Henzuru
by taggerung999
Summary: This is the much improved ReWrite of Transformed. On the verge of death Kyuubi makes an unexpected offer. Chapter Summary: There is a barrier that exists between Humans, demons, and gods. the same goes for the strengths of the first two. but now that barr
1. Kyuubi's offer

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. It belongs to Mashashi Kishimoto. Do not sue. All I own is my computer and keyboard.

A.N: This is the re write. Due to many reviews and me just plain not liking these first chapters, I am re writing them. Hopefully you all will like them better.

Kyuubi Makes An Offer 

Naruto and his team, or what was left of it, jumped from tree to tree. They had been sent on a mission to wave country. Inari, Tsunami, and Tazuna were to be escorted to Konoha. Naruto was far ahead of the group, he had not seen them for a long time now and he was impatient.

It had only been three months since Sasuke had left for the Sound. Tsunade had noticed that the blond haired, blue-eyed genin was not his usual loud obnoxious self. She knew it was because his best friend had left. She did not know exactly what had happened in the Valley of the End, but it was obvious to her that Sasuke had tried to kill the boy. She suspected this was the cause of her brother's current mood. That was when she had gotten a letter from Wave country requesting Team 7 as an escort for a group of people that would be traveling to Konoha.

A while ago she had read that these people were part of a mission that Naruto had completed, and the country even had a bridge named after him. Thus she decided to send him, Sakura, and Kakashi to bring them to Konoha. But if she had known what would happen on that mission she would have burned the request then and there.

Several hours after they had left Kakashi called a halt. It was getting dark and they would not be able to see in a few minuets. That would be no problem for most shinobi, but they had been running all day and were exhausted. Besides, this wasn't an urgent mission; they could take their time, as much as Naruto didn't want to.

They had just finished setting up their camp when a shuriken whirred out of the darkness, just barely missing Kakashi. A small cut opened up on his shoulder and he quickly got into a defensive position; "Naruto, Sakura! Move!" but he need not have said anything because they were already ready.

A laugh sounded from the surrounding forest. "Foolish genin. Coming out here for a fake mission. I will obtain the Mangekyou and kill my brother, but to do that I must kill you all. Starting with you dobe!" Sasuke threw several kunai at his former teammate before disappearing back into the night.

"Show yourself teme!" Naruto yelled as he created a hundred bunshins. "If you won't come out, I'll drag you out!" the bunshins began to scatter, only to be destroyed by the rain of kunai and shuriken from the missing nin.

As the last bunshin was destroyed Sasuke stepped from the darkness, followed by two others. All of them were wearing Sound forehead protectors. "Die dobe!" Sasuke yelled as he launched himself at Naruto, slashing at him with a sword that he had pulled from behind him. A blade that was oddly familiar. Kusanagi, Orochimaru's blade. The same sword that had been used against the Old Man and Tsunade-baa-chan. Naruto would never forget that blade, nor would he forgive anyone who used the cursed blade.

Naruto somehow managed to dodge the attack; "I know that you want to kill your brother, but Orochimaru wont just give you the power to do it! Don't you know that he is going to take your body in three years!?" Naruto jumped at Sasuke, holding his kunai like a dagger.

Sasuke deftly sidesteps; "I don't care if I have to sell my soul to the devil himself. So long as I have the power to kill my brother." As the blond passed by he landed a hard blow to the middle of the boy's back. "Is that all you've got? Pitiful. But then again, you never were a challenge."

Sakura just stood dumbfounded on the sidelines, watching in horror as the one she thought she loved attacked her teammate. Sure, he had left them but that was only because of that weird mark that the snake man had put on him. He would never try to kill Naruto, would he? Then again, they had always fought, and the last time she had seen them, it did look as if Sasuke wanted to kill Naruto just as much as that other guy. ((Sakura still doesn't know that Sasuke wants to kill his brother.))

Kakashi rushed over to help Naruto, who was just getting up. The Jounin pushes up his Hitai-ate revealing his Sharingan. "Naruto, when you have enough energy, use the Rasengan. But make it quick, he is much stronger than when he left." With that he rushed to keep the raven-haired boy distracted. He knew that he would not be able to hold him off for long, so he started with his special move; "Chidori!" he yelled out as a mass of blue sparks gathered in his hand, emitting a sound like a thousand birds screaming, hence it's name. Behind him, Naruto made several Bunshin to help him, while Naruto powered up his attack.

Sasuke ended up fighting the clones, every time he took one down; three more seemed to pop up in its place. Well it wasn't really a fight. Even though more and more clones popped up, Sasuke took them down with such ease that it seemed impossible. Then Sasuke yawned. 'Is this all he has? He should have gotten a lot stronger than this. Oh well. Time to finish up' he activated his sharingan and destroyed all of the clones before they could multiply again. "That was pitiful Naruto. You haven't improved since the last time we met. Shame, I was hoping for a challenge." Behind him Kakashi stabbed his chidori at his back.

Sasuke deftly broke Kakashi's wrist, forcing him to release the jutsu. Then he formed the chidori and slammed it into Kakashi, hoping to kill him, but missed. Kakashi only had a small wound in his side.

Sasuke's followers just watched, trying to learn as much as possible from Orochimaru's favorite. There was no way that he would lose. The Otokage himself had trained him. So these leaf nin should be a piece of cake.

Sasuke then made a chidori in both hands, before bringing them together, doubling its attack power.

Kakashi's eye widened; "That's not possible. Even I cant do that! And I created the technique!"

Sasuke smirked; "It's one of the things Orochimaru-sama taught me." That was the last thing Naruto heard before nothingness closed around him.

He had attempted to sneak up on his opponent and hit him with the rasengan. He had almost made it when Sasuke plunged his Twin Thousand Birds through his chest, barly missing his heart.

Naruto fell to the ground, to all appearances, dead. Kakashi attempted to get over to his fallen comrade, but was stopped by his wounds and Sasuke's 'teammates'.

Sakura had fainted when she had seen Naruto die. This wasn't the Sasuke she had known. She had not respect for this Sasuke. How could she not have seen this coming? Why had she ever liked him? When she woke up, if she woke up at all, she would give him a good beating. Hell yeah!

"There's no escape for either of you now. Both of you will die, just as he did." Sasuke grins evilly while pointing at the dead boy.

While his back was turned, Kakashi had been doing a set of hand seals. He just hoped he finished before Sasuke noticed. Sasuke turned around as he finished the last seal. Both he and Sakura disappeared. He could not bring Naruto's body because he was low on chakra.

"Oh well. They weren't worth my time." Sasuke growled. Inwardly he was seething. He had wanted to kill the so badly.

One of his subordinates, the one named Talla approached Sasuke; "Sasuke-sama, what should we do with the body?"

Sasuke waved him off; "You could leave the body to rot for all I care. We need to get back to Otogakure. Orochimaru wanted us back today, and we don't have much time left." Sasuke turned and left, not looking back. He knew that his team would follow.

After Sasuke 'killed' him, Naruto found himself within his mind. To any who didn't know better, it looked like a sewer. One that should have been condemned long ago. The walls were crumbling, non-existent in places. Moss grew on the stones that remained, and an inch deep pool of dirty water ran along the ground. All of this was because of the villagers. Their constant hate filled glares, calling him demon, hunting him down just to hurt him. Most would have killed themselves, or ran away long ago if it had happened to them. But Naruto was made of sterner stuff, so he survived. He turned their hate into motivation. He would never give up.

A low growling was heard coming from further down the channel. "Stupid fox." Was all Naruto said while walking towards the growling.

Long ago, before Naruto had been born, a vicious demon had attacked the village of Konoha. It was the nine tailed fox, Kyuubi. Its tails caused massive earthquakes and tsunamis. Many ninja had died trying to protect their village, but to no avail. That is until the greatest of the Hokage, the Fourth, sacrificed his life to defeat the mighty demon. He was not able to kill it, so he sealed it inside of a newborn child, it's umbilical cord freshly cut. His dying wish was that the child be seen as a hero, but it was not to be. The villagers saw the demon and not the child. Most wanted it killed then and their, and it was only because of the third Hokage that the child survived. He made a law stating that no one was to mention the demon. Those who disobeyed were punished severely, but it did not stop the adults from passing their hate on to their children. Thus the vessel of the Kyuubi grew up being hated and shunned.

Currently the nine tailed fox was growling at the boy that stood before him. He couldn't harm the kid, even if he had wanted to. When he had been sealed, his mind and soul had been kept away from the kit. When the boy entered his mind, the Kyuubi was imprisoned behind a large rusty gate that went from one end of the boy's mindscape to the other. A talisman with the word "SEAL" was what held the gates closed, and no matter how hard he tried to break it, he always failed. He really did like the Kit, but he was the Nine Tailed Demon Lord, and she had an image to keep.

Oi! Brat! What did you think you were doing!? 

"I was fighting Sasuke. Stupid fox."

"**Well you sure did a good job of it! **Kyuubi yelled. **He punched a hole right above your heart. And now were both dying.**

Naruto flinched before yelling; "I can't die yet! I still have to become the Hokage!"

**Well, I guess that will never happen. We are dying and there is nothing that I can do to stop it. **It was a small lie, but it was to help the kit. In any other situation the boy would not agreed to what he was about to propose.

"Wait… We're dying? I thought that when I died you'd be set free."

I can't get out kit. Our life forces are bound to each other. If you die, well, so do I. And I am not ready to do that just yet. I have a plan that may let us live.

"Huh? What's the plan? But didn't you say that there was nothing you could do to stop it?"

Yes I did. And there is nothing that I can do to stop it, by my self that is. This would require both of us. And it is the only option if either of us wish to survive.

"So what is it!?" He was getting impatient.

We fuse. I become you and you become me. Our bodies, minds, souls, memories, and chakra will become one. There will be nothing that separates us. This may work, but then again, it might not. Only a few beings have done this, and I don't know what became of them. If it is possible it will work. If not, well then, there's nothing we can do about it and we die.

Naruto looks at the Kyuubi with an odd expression. "You'd be willing to become human in order to stay alive?"

No, I wouldn't. there are many things that will happen. And there is also a cost.

"And they are?"

Meanwhile, in the center of the continent, something is awakening. Deep below the earth's surface, there is a cave. Its walls covered in ice. Suspended in the center of the room, hovering above the ground, touching nothing, is a bluish-green gem. A very large gem at that. It is a yard wide and three tall. Within it there is a shadow, what manner of being it is, none can tell.

On the white marble floor, the only surface, besides the gem, which was not covered in ice, was a complex set of runes. They formed a series of circles that intertwined with each other. Outside of the circles were the symbols of every ninja village that was in, or ever was or would be, in existence. The gem floated in the center of all these. Waiting for the right time. A time that was soon coming. A time when he would truly be needed.

A.N: I hope you like these chapters better that you did the first ones. I know I do.


	2. the cost of life

Disclaimer: I wish I owned Naruto but I do not. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. So don't sue me.

Blah Normal

**Blah Demon**

Cost of Life Fusion

**I wont and never would be willing to become human. They are far too weak. Don't take offense to that kit, you weren't completely human to begin with. Because of me you were at least part demon, even if you were a hundred times more human. All the fusion will do is complete the process. You will become all demon, though I don't know what rank you will be. The real cost of the fusion will be your past. No one would know who you were; even if they did they would not recognize you. But you could always use a henge if you don't like what you look like.**

"That's fine. I wasn't accepted in Konoha anyway. I don't really care if they never recognize me again. They all saw me as you, a demon. Only Iruka-sensei, Tsunade-baa-chan, and Ero-sennin really liked me. The Old Man Hokage did to, but he died." He frowned at that memory. "No one else cared. It would be nice to start over without anyone recognizing me or knowing what I am."

Kyuubi grins evilly; **So you accept. **

It wasn't a question but Naruto answered anyway. "Of course."

**Very well… to do this I will have to teach you a long forgotten and forbidden jutsu. ** Naruto's ears perked up at the word jutsu. **It was forbidden because it turned the human who performed it into a low level demon. Or it would merge two entities together. Because I am in you, you are considered a Hanyou, a half-demon.**

"So the villagers weren't completely wrong about me." He said angrily.

**Brat! Didn't you hear me earlier? You were far more human than you were demon. Stupid ningen. I should have killed more. If you want, you can get revenge later, but for now DON'T INTERUPT ME! **Naruto cringed at the volume of the last bit and decided to keep quiet. **As I was saying, because you are already a half-demon you will not turn into a normal demon. I am one of the Four Demon Lords, as well as the strongest of the Tailed Lords. Most likely you will take on my titles and powers. We will probably be stronger than I was before I was sealed. Any way, it will be up to you to decide what you want to do with the power. You could pretend to be human and help the little rats. **Kyuubi still had no love for most humans. This was only reinforced by what she had seen them do to Naruto. **Or… **she continued, **you could continue what I started and destroy them all. ** Kyuubi smiled at the memory of all the villagers fleeing from her, screaming in fear.

**In our case, this jutsu will do the second stage fusion. It will take our two essences and turn them into one, instead of just giving one of us the others power and control, leaving one weak, useless, and angry. If a normal human did this it would permanently open the Eight Celestial Gates, which would most likely destroy the human's mind and body, one reason why it was forbidden. For us it will just fuse us without any further damage, we will them have sixteen Gates that we can open. That is one thing that this jutsu wont merge, but you will be able to open them easier and get more power from each one. **

**Your Inner Coils will be completely different as well, meaning that you will have to re-learn how to use your chakra. You will still know all of your jutsu as well as mine; you will just have to re-work how to use them.**

"That's fine." Naruto scrunches his eyes up in thought. "How come people didn't use this jutsu if it made them really powerful? Most people that I know wouldn't care that it was forbidden or that it might kill them."

**So you CAN think. That is actually a good question. The jutsu is extremely long. It takes three hours to perform, and is very noticeable during the last thirty minuets. It can't be felt but it is easily seen, and everyone knew what it looked like. If anyone was seen doing it they were killed on the spot. No one wanted anyone else to have that much power. Another thing that they could do was stop the sequence. Once you start it you can't stop or you will die.**

"I don't know the jutsu. How can you teach it to me if that means that you'd die?"

**Kit, you really are an idiot. I'm not going to _teach_ it to you. I'm going to give you the memory/knowledge of how to do it. Demons are born with this knowledge, just in case something like this happens. **Kyuubi touches Naruto's forehead with one of her tails.

_FLASH_

Naruto's eyes widen; "We BOTH have to do it?"

**Yes brat. We both have to do it. That way we fuse. If one of us didn't, one of us would cease to exist, and the fusion would be incomplete, weakened. I wouldn't care if it were you, but I won't take the chance that it could be me. **She was still acting like she didn't like the kit. She really knew which would disappear. The one who didn't do the seals would disappear, and she didn't want that to happen to her kit, not again. ((We will get to that later))** I'm doing this so that I can continue to exist, as well as you. We may become one but then both us would still be alive, in a way, even if it is as one being.**

"Can we do it here or do I have to do it with my real body?" ((Yes, he knew where he was))

**Because you can enter your own mind to talk to me you can do it here.**

Both of them; **"Let's go!"**

Naruto begins with the hand seals while Kyuubi starts the Demon Seals ((Demon version of Hand Seals))

Two hours and thirty minuets later Naruto's body began to glow with an unearthly light. Blue and red chakra poured out from him as all eight of his Celestial Gates and Kyuubi's Demonic Gates are thrown wide open. Most people can't stand more than a minuet with all eight gates open before dying, but because of Kyuubi's healing factor it did relatively little damage. The chakra begins to take the shape of two bodies, one of blue light and the other of red. They were the souls of the demon and the soon to be. The red was the image of the nine-tailed fox, tails swishing behind her as if they had minds of their own, and the other was Naruto, chakra dancing in the air like fire. Both spirits were still doing seals. The body below the spirits flashed once before turning into dust and sinking into the earth.

After another twenty minuets an intricate circle of pure energy formed below the souls. **Are you ready kit?**

"Of course!" Naruto said giving his famous fox grin.

As the last seals were being formed the circle grew brighter, blotting out the chakra bodies with its brilliance. The last seals: ningen, kitsune, and fusion were formed. ((That means human fox fusion)) From deep within the earth shot the pure energy of the earth's soul as it recognized what was about to happen. It burst through the circle on the ground and shot hundreds of meters into the air. The blue and red chakras were caught up in it as the earth wove them together as one. The kanji for all or the elements were formed on the wall of the pillar of light as well as on the ground around it as they recognized the fusion and lent their help to it. Three helped out more than the others. ((Why will be explained later))

After two minuets of energy pouring out from the very fabric of reality ((Think about it, every element and the earth was helping with this)) the pillar began to shrink in both height and width until it took the form of a body. A small amount of chakra still lingered around for a moment before wrapping around the body and forming nine tails. The moment the tails were formed, the light that had been covering the body exploded, releasing a shockwave that destroyed everything within twenty meters and continued out across the continent. Every living thing felt it, even if it were just as a ripple at the very edges of the land, before it dissipated into nothingness.

The wave reached the center of the continent where _He _rested. The chakra in it triggered something. The crystal began to pulse, as if it were the heart of a giant. A faint light came from within. _He _was waking up. The son of the shinigami, lord of death, had been awakened.

A.N: still not as long as I'd like, but it's better than the one page thing that it was before. The shiningami's son won't be a major role. It's pretty much a bonus, but he will be used later in the story, just a little.


	3. A New Life

Disclaimer: IF I were Kishimoto I would own this, but I am NOT him so don't sue me.

"Blah" normal

'Blah' thought

Back in Konoha, the shockwave rippled through the village. It was like a gust of summer-wind in the dead of winter. Everyone felt it, and all were afraid. The shinobi felt within the wave a chakra that had not been felt for twelve years, while the villagers had a sense of foreboding that washed over them. And only those closest to Naruto felt the purer chakra, the human part, which was mixed in with the demon energy.

Whatever their case, all of Konoha was afraid. The older generation ran through the streets screaming that the demon was back to finish what it had started. Naruto's friends, the ones that had accepted him were worried that something bad had happened. Those that did not know about the Kyuubi because of the inhuman chakra that the boys was mixed with, and those that did know because they thought that someone had killed the boy to free the Kyuubi. And all were frightened because there was no one there to seal it this time. Come to think of it, the demon would probable be even more enraged at the village for sealing it in the first place.

All of them were right in a way. The Kyuubi was free, just not in the way that they thought. Tsunade was worried about Naruto, whom she considered to be her little brother. As soon as she felt her ototo's chakra she summoned the ANBU Captain; "Take as many available nin as you can. I want Naruto found! The Kyuubi's chakra was mixed in with his so I want you to take the Rookie Nine, just in case Kyuubi took over. Naruto may be able to stop him if he sees them." ((Remember, no one but Naruto really knows Kyuubi's gender. So Konoha thinks that the demon is male))

When the ANBU didn't move Tsunade slammed her fist into her desk, splitting it in two; "What are you waiting for? GET GOING!" she yelled in his face.

The ANBU Captain made a quick exit to avoid the angry Hokage while thinking; 'That woman is almost as scary as the Kyuubi.' With that last thought he left to gather the Rookie Nine and their senseis.

Thirty miles ((approximately sixty Km)) from the clearing caused by the fusion, Sasuke and his 'team' were jumping through the trees heading towards Otogakure. Sasuke was about to jump for the next branch when the shockwave blasted past him. His eyes darkened as he felt the Dobe's chakra mixed in with the wave. 'I thought I killed him.' His eyes darkened even more as he felt the second chakra. He hated the thought of Naruto having anything to do with anything even remotely powerful. But this… he absolutely loathed this. The power in that wave was immense, it would have made both his brother and Orochimaru quake in mortal fear. He would not let that dobe have anything to do with that power, dead or alive.

Just then, the female ninja, whose name was Nelli, spoke; "Sasuke-sama, a few moments before that chakra hit us, I saw what looked like a pillar of light back that way." The girl nodded in the direction that they had come from. "Should we check it out?"

Sasuke scowled angrily as he dashed off towards where he had left the dobe's body.

Back in the clearing, the lights were just receding as a nine-tailed figure stepped out of the dust. It looked quite like Naruto, and yet not like him at all. The boy had memories that stretched back thousands of thousands of years. His nine tails swished lazily behind him. "Hmmmm…." He rumbled. His voice was similar to Naruto's, except that it a little deeper and it had a rumbling, growling undertone to it. "I will need a new name. One that describes who I am now and not who I was." His blue eyes unfocused for a moment before quickly sharpening.

His eyes were a deep blue, as deep as the ocean. His pupils were slitted like a cat's. They were a true demon's eyes. They looked exactly like Kyuubi's did, except for the blue color that came from Naruto.

The whisker marks on his cheeks had gotten longer, darker, and deeper. His hands, if they could still be called that, no longer had soft human nails at the fingertips. They were as hard as diamonds and could be as sharp as a mid-winter's gale, or as dull as a human's. They could be extended as he wished, leaving them short, so that they were even with his fingertips, or an inch and a half long, as well as any length in between.

He had nine reddish orange tails that constantly moved behind him, as if they held a life of their own. His hair was also that same fiery color. His ears weren't human; they were those of a fox. From the top of his head rose two furry fox ears. They were the same red color as the rest of his head, except for the tips, which were black. ((Same position as InuYasha's ears if I didn't describe it well enough)) He was the same height as Naruto had been, that would most likely never change. His muscles had become denser, gaining no mass, but becoming infinitely stronger. He was lighter too. Where once he had weighed 88 lbs((ca 40 Kg)), he now weighed half that. The combination of these things made him much faster.

He found himself looking at his claws with interest. Never again would he be left without a weapon. The same went for his tails. "My name, for now, will be Kit Bikyuu ((Eternal Kitsune))." He said with finality. A Kit was a small fox; he was still young, even by human standards. Bikyuu because it was Kyuubi backwards ((not English, Japanese)) and he would most likely live longer than a normal human. He might not be Kyuubi exactly, but his enemies should fear and respect him as if he was. In fact, he was basically the child of Kyuubi and Naruto, and was stronger than Kyuubi had been, even if it was just by a little.

He could also use more jutsu than the old Kyuubi because of the old Naruto, or he would once he learned how to use his chakra again. He knew all of their jutsu, and was not limited by one set of seals. He could both theHuman and Demon Seals. As it was, he could only use one thing, and that was just because it was like a Bloodline Limit, but it was not a human Limit, it was far too strong to be a human's.

It was far stronger than any known to man. Onimetsuki ((Demon Eyes)) is what it was called, and it allowed him the use of all other optical limits. It also allowed him to copy other Bloodline Limits. For instance he could use Haku's ice mirrors because he had seen them, and they had been used against him. One really good thing about his Demon Limit was that all other Limits were negated by his, regardless of whether he had seen them or not. The Byakugan would see nothing but his physical form. It wouldn't see his tenketsus or chakra. The Sharingan would not be able to copy his jutsus. ((Thank Kami. Imagine if Uchiha got a hold of his high level human jutsus. No demon ones though. Only Demons and Hanyous can use those. Not to mention that if a human tried he would be killed from chakra depletion.)) Kit on the other hand, could use both the Byakugan and Sharingan, at the same time if he wished.

When he used Onimetsuki it did not look like any other optical jutsu. When he used it his eyes would turn blood red, like Kyuubi's, while his slitted pupils would obtain a golden lining. In the center of the pupil would be a small dot of blue, like a sapphire in the night sky, held in place by nine blue-green threads. The dot and threads that connected it to the iris would always be near invisible, only revealed upon close inspection, but the red and gold were easily seen. One added, and very useful, aspect of the Onimetsuki was its ability to 'hide' things. The object that he wanted to hide would be completely erased from the minds of all, making it invisible. It would still be there, someone could trip over a hidden object and still not see it.

For instance, he could hide his tails, and while people's eyes would see them, their minds would not. Because their eyes could see it, this effect could not be canceled by anyone except the one who cast it. How else did you think that demons kept their treasure vaults secret? Anyway, he could use his tails in battle ((any time really)) and no one would know. They would think that he was using a jutsu of some sort. This effect would still be active even if he weren't using his Dojutsu, unless he chose to reveal what he had hidden. He could hide things without his eyes turning red. That would be extremely useful if he were surrounded and needed to get some one of thing out without revealing his Dojutsu. At that moment he hid his tails. 'Wouldn't be too good if any one found out about them back in Konoha.'

He sniffed the air and raised an eyebrow. All of his senses had been heightened to demon level as well. Everything was clearer and sharper, he could see farther as well. He could hear everything as well as feel it, hell; he could even taste things in the air. His sense of smell was better than Akamaru's was. ((Akamaru is Kiba's dog)) Somehow he knew that he could control his senses, dulling whichever one he wanted to human level, which he promptly did to most of them. He would leave them that way until he was ready to learn how to use and get used to them.

He could smell a team from Konoha approaching. That was all he could tell from his first whiff, they were still too far away. He took another one to see who was coming. It was the Rookie Nine and their teachers. Well most of them anyway, no one from Team 7 was there. He decided to leave before they found him. Even if they wouldn't recognize him, there was still a chance one of them would, especially among the adults. There would also be an interrogation if they caught him there, and he was not ready to face Ibiki, that man still scared him a little. Besides, he planned to one-day return to Konoha, and he did not want any one to remember that he had been there that day. When he returned he would judge them to see if they had changed or not, then he would decide if they deserved to live or not.

Without a second thought he dashed off to the east and Sunagakure, the Village Hidden in Sand, using his new speed, quickly leaving the clearing behind. He would learn many new jutsu before he returned.

If he had waited a few more seconds the Rookies would have caught him. His senses were still new to him so he had misjudged their distance. As it was he had just left as the first one stepped into the clearing. He had also missed the other team completely, the team that would change his life forever. But all of them had seen him, however briefly.

Two minuets before, the Nine had been rushing toward where they had all seen the pillar of light rise. Gai-sensei was yelling something about the Power of Youth, while Hinata was more concerned about Naruto. She knew that his team had come this way on their mission before they returned. They had returned without him. Gai, sensing her thoughts tried to distract her. "Are you sure it came from this direction, Hinata?"

The white-eyed girl stuttered; "H-Hai, the light came from this direction."

Asuma stopped suddenly. The Genin and one Chuunin, Shikamaru had passed the Exam earlier that year, came to a halt behind him, staring at what lay before them. In the middle of the forest was a gap forty meters across from one tree to another in any direction. The ground was perfectly level and as smooth as glass. No plant life grew within the circle. But that was not what caught their attention. Standing in the exact middle of the clearing was a boy with fiery red hair, besides that he looked like Naruto did, at least from a distance. He seemed to be in deep thought when he suddenly ran off in the opposite direction at an inhuman speed. Forget the thought of him being Naruto. The dead last could never ever hope to be that fast.

Kiba walked over to where the boy had been standing. "Well I guess we found what made that light." He sniffed the air along with Akamaru, his dog. "Naruto was here. What's funny is that his sent does not leave here. It just stops right here." He sniffed the air again. "That boy kind of smelled like Naruto, but there's something else. I cant tell what." At that Akamaru barked. Kiba was looking at his dog with a shocked and confused look. "What do you mean he smelled like a Demon Fox? There haven't been any demons around Konoha since Kyuubi."

The teachers blanched as they listened to the conversation. Gai spoke with a serious tone ((the worlds coming to an end!)) "We will report this to Tsunade-sama. When we get back, speak of this to no one. You hear me?" All of the genin and the Chunin nodded. "Good. Now let's head back." they all dashed back towards Konoha as fast as they could to report what they had found to the Hokage.

Back in the Hokages Office, Tsunade was taking her afternoon nap. How she could take a nap after the shockwave, even I don't know. The team that had been sent out to find Naruto walked in to find her still sleeping and immediately began arguing over who would wake her up. You would have to be suicidal to want to wake her up. The last person to do it had wound up in the ICU for a month. Even now the poor man was still in the hospital. Fortunately for them, their arguing had woken her up for them. Unfortunately she started yelling at all of them to shut the hell up.

Over the course of the next thirty minuets they told her of what they had found and about the boy in the clearing. At the end Tsunade spoke up; "That is very interesting. I wonder if that boy had anything to do with Naruto's disappearance. From now wherever you go on a mission ask around to see if anyone has seen a guy that fits that description. You are dismissed." After they left Tsunade sighed and put her head on the desk. "What happened to you Naruto, where are you?" she questioned the air. "If that red-head hurt you in any way I will personally rip him limb from limb."

Sasuke and his team had just entered the clearing. Sasuke searched intently for the body but found nothing, no blood, no chakra, nothing. If he had managed to drag himself away there should have been some blood. The dobe was dead, he knew it. There were also signs of a team from Konoha on the ground. They must have taken the body. There is no way the dobe survived that.

That was when the clearing itself caught his attention. It was a perfect circle and smooth as glass, what's more, Naruto's body would have been in the center of the clearing. His eyes darkened. The dobe would have been in the middle, what did that mean? He activated his Sharingan and was surprised to see wisps of chakra floating through the air. The chakra was three different colors, two of which he had never seen before. The wisps were blue, red, and purple. He had never seen the last two colors before. ((He wasn't really paying attention whenever Naruto used Kyuubi's chakra)) Wait; there was that time in the Valley of the End when Naruto's chakra had turned red. Could that mean that he was alive? Hell no! He may have had impressive healing abilities, but no one could survive a blow though the heart. So it wasn't worth thinking about. He had killed the dobe and that was all there was to it. He had injured Kakashi, who was sure to tell Konoha about it. Maybe they would send more nins after him. He would like that. He wanted to test his strength some more. Sadly he didn't recognize that he was turning into what he hated what he thought his had been. He thought that his brother, Itachi, had massacred his family to test his power, which is exactly what he was doing now to Konoha. ((Sad isn't it?)) "Let's go back to Orochimaru-sama. He will be pleased to know that your training is complete, as well as the little bit of extra stuff we did." He said to his 'team.' He and his teammates rushed back towards the Hidden Sound.

In the center of the continent the shinigami's son had just awakened. He knew whose chakra it was that had freed him. He now owed him a favor. Maybe he would get his father to do something special for him, or he might train him. So many choices. Oh well, for now he would just watch over Naruto. Who knows, the boy may be entertaining to watch.

((This is the last bit of stuff on the shinigami's son that I will write for a while. He shows up later though))


	4. Demon of the Shadow

Disclaimer: If I owned it I wouldn't be putting this here. I don't own. You don't sue.

I don't own Full Metal Alchemist either.

A.N: This chapter is a combination of chapters 4 and 5 of the old one, with some major alterations.

"Blah" Normal

'Blah' Thought

Demon of the Shadow

It had been one year since Naruto had died; well that's what everyone thought at least. The Chuunin Exams were coming up and the Teams were getting ready. It would be again held in Konoha, why I have no idea. There were also rumors of a new Village that would be participating this year. Some claimed that it was as old as Konoha, but no one believed them. I mean, how long could a ninja village go on without another village finding out about them?

Tsunade had been sitting at her desk thinking of both Naruto and the new village. She hoped that her brother was still alive, but everyday her hope lessened. The new village also proposed a problem. That problem was that no one knew anything about them, like what styles they used or how strong they were. The village was called the Village Hidden in the Shadows, or Kagegakure. Their leader was known as the Onikage, or demon shadow. On him there was some information, however little it was. Of course he was the strongest of the village, but what was surprising was that no target of him, no matter however strong, had ever gotten away. Her info also told her that he had taken an heir, but no information was to be had about whoever it was.

Her thoughts moved to what happened almost a year ago. She gritted her teeth as she thought of the red head. 'If he died because of you or if you know anything that could cause him harm, I swear I will…' her thoughts were scattered as Sakura burst through the door.

"Tsunade-sama!" her student yelled. Tsunade had been teaching the pink-haired girl since just after Naruto disappeared. Sakura gulped when she saw the Godaime's annoyed expression. "Sumimasen sensei, but we found a foreign nin who fits the description of the one seen last year when Naruto vanished."

Tsunade jumped up from behind her desk, a wild expression in her eyes. The thought of maybe finding something out about her little brother sparked something in her. "Where? Bring his to me immediately!" the blond gambling addict roared.

"Hai Tsunade-sama." She disappeared with a puff of smoke.

Tsunade stared at the door to her office with an expression, that had they seen it, would have made the ANBU guarding her door beg for a demotion to genin, and a loooooong vacation. "I have a lot of questions for you red-head." Tsunaded started to laugh in a tone that would frighten Orochimaru himself.

Several miles away from Konoha, a certain red-haired demon sneezed. "Hmmm… someone must be talking about me. I hope its something good." Kit Bikyuu, formerly known as Uzumaki Naruto, was currently swimming in the middle of the Kohaku River. He wasn't paying much attention, but he did notice that someone was coming a few moments before the person arrived. He may not have been paying attention, but his senses were still sharp enough to pick out anything that wasn't trying to hide its scent within fifty meters.

Since he had left, his senses had sharpened even more, and he could now accurately tell distances by one sense alone. While his lesser range was fifty meters, if he were trying to find something nothing within twenty km could escape him. He had also re-learned and perfected, no more than perfected every jutsu that both he and Kyuubi had known. He had also learned many new jutsus, some he was still working on.

A few months ago, he had been sent on a mission to the Hidden Alchemists Village. There he had learned the art of transmutation. He hadn't quite perfected that one, but he had mastered it, as was just as good as his teachers the Elrics. One of his senseis had been a short; well he was really Kit's height, blond man with a plaited ponytail going half way down his back. What was really strange was that his right arm and left leg had been mechanical. That and his brother was a suit of armor. He had been told that they were like that because they had attempted Human Transmutation, an expressly forbidden art. That was the cost paid for trying to bring some one ((their mother)) back to life. After hearing that and being told that much worse things could happen, as well as being forbid to even think about it, he had pushed the thought of Human Transmutation out of his mind.

Transmutation or Alchemy had been a simple trick for him because of his immense chakra, but it had taken a month to do it without wasting an enormous amount of energy. Before, even with his seemingly limitless reserves, he had only been able to do it about four times in one day. Now his limit was somewhere over a thousand, but of course he would never have to test that.

Kit sighed. He smelled two people coming towards him. Two people that he really didn't want to have to deal with right now. He knew he would have to eventually, he had just hoped that it would be a few days before then. He was here to take the Chuunin Exams. Where was his team you might ask? Well… he had no team. He had been sent here to take the test by himself; he had a letter asking the Hokage to allow it.

Oh well, whatever. He had better get out before they showed up. With one leap he had crossed to the far side of the river where his camp had been. Walking up to the fire he began to do some hand seals. When he finished purple chakra covered his body, solidifying into clothes. He was now wearing a deep red cloak, the hood resting on his back. It served two purposes. One was to store extra chakra, and the second was to keep people from accidentally touching one of his tails. ((Even if they couldn't see them, they could still be felt)) He had on black cargo pants and black tennis shoes. Beneath the cloak he wore a crimson T-shirt. On the back of the cloak was the same symbol from the back of one of his sensei's cloaks; only behind this one was a nine-point compass. Below the design were the words: _Lord of the South_, written in the language of the demons. On his hands he wore black fingerless gloves, so that he could use his claws if need be. He then pulled out his Hitai-ate ((Forehead protector)) and tied where it was supposed to go, on his forehead.

As you might have guessed he was from Kagegakure. Their forehead protectors were as black as a new moon's night and reflected no light. They also had no symbol carved into them. It was simply black, and that was how they were recognized. ((Later I'll tell how he got into Kagegakure, you'll just have to wait for now))

The moment he finished tying his Hitai-ate, both Kakashi and Sakura landed beside him. Kakashi looked him over and lazily said "The Hokage requests your presence." He looked at the headband the boy was wearing. "Are you here to take the Chuunin Exam?" The boy turned to look at him, revealing two azure slitted eyes that contained so much power it rivaled the sennin's.

"Yes. I am here to represent the Shadow in the Exams." He spoke with a voice that sounded mostly human, but there was also something in it that seemed to say that he also spoke in another, rougher, language. ((The demon language only sounds rough to humans. It's the same to them; human languages sound just as rough in their ears))

Sakura spoke up then. "Then where's your team?"

The boy turned to her, "I don't have one. I will be taking it by myself."

Both Kakashi and Sakura stared dumbfounded at the boy before them. No one had ever taken the exam by himself or herself. Sure the last part was solo, but you needed a team for the second part.

Kakashi was the first to recover; "You will have to get Tsunade-sama's permission for that. You can do it while you are meeting with her. I believe she wanted to talk with you about something."

"Ok than. Let's go. Oh wait one second." As he clapped his hands together, both Leaf Nins got into a defensive position, clearly expecting an attack. Kit slammed his hands into the ground, purple chakra spreading out in the form of a circle. He slowly pulled his hands up, a katana rising up out of the ground beneath his hands. The sword had two colors, blue and brown; the blue on one side and brown on the other. When the chakra stopped sparking on the ground, the boy grinned in a way that was very familiar to them, only this grin revealed very sharp fangs. "By the way, my name is Kit Bikyuu, and this is my sword Niyousoken." With that he strapped the sword across his back and began walking towards Konoha's gates, leaving Kakashi and Sakura to catch up.

A few minutes later Team 7 and their guest were walking through the streets of Konoha. Kit sniffed the air. He was looking for something and from the look on his face he had just found it. "Food!" he yelled, making a mad dash towards where his nose ((and memories)) told him the food was located. Seconds later he was ordering Miso Ramen at what had once been Naruto's favorite restaurant, Ichiraku.

Several minutes later, and twenty-eight bowls later Team 7 found Kit happily slurping away at yet another bowl of ramen. Sakura looked sadly upon the bar. Naruto had always come here. He had always eaten an unimaginable amount of the noodles here. She glanced over at the pile of bowls beside him. She did a double take. 'There's no way that anyone besides Naruto could eat that much.'

Kakashi was thinking along the same lines when Kit shoved his seat back and yelled; "Gochisamadeshita!" ((Thanks for the meal)). He then pulled out his wallet and paid with something Kakashi had never seen anyone pay with before. Kit paid, not with cash, silver, or gold. No, he paid in diamonds. His whole wallet was filled with the clear gems. He passed one over to the awestruck owner. It was enough to buy out the store for several years, yet the boy acted as if it were nothing.

To tell the truth it wasn't. The Shadow had entire rooms in certain buildings that were made from it. So they weren't worth all that much in the Shadow, but they knew that they were quite valuable elsewhere.

"Well then. You said the Hokage wanted to see me? Then lead the way." Kakashi just nodded, he couldn't seem to get his mouth to work.

So instead of saying something to him he told Sakura to go home and rest up. They would be doing some heavy training the next day.

As they approached the Hokage's Tower, Kit began to feel sick. It wasn't because of the food, his stomach could take anything. It was because of something in the foundations of the building itself that was making him feel sick.

Kit was a demon, so there were only a few things that could make him sick, and he knew what was causing it. Holy Water; He could smell it in the foundations. It was used to keep evil spirits away, yet in his case it had the unfortunate effect of making him sick to his stomach.

The other things that could make demons and spirits that way were priests and mikos, or anyone descended of ones of strong holy blood. They were among the people he hated the most; they seemed to enjoy making spirits sick. They flaunted it like…

Well, thankfully there weren't many of them left. But that didn't mean that Holy Water wasn't still around. All really old buildings and temples and large amounts of the stuff in their bases. The tower was no exception.

He began to shiver the closer they got to the tower. When he got to the door he looked like he was having a seizure. His guides looked worried. That was until he dashed past the doors and collapsed on the other side, shaking and muttering something about UnHoly Water. ((What demons called Holy Water))

Kakashi sighed and picked him up. The only reason that he was helping the boy was that the Hokage really wanted to see him. Well, that and it would look bad on Konoha if something bad happened to someone from another village outside of the Chuunin Exam. Konoha did not need another war. And nobody knew what the Shadow was capable of.

Kakashi knocked on the door to the office, desperately hoping that Tsunade was awake.

"Enter."

Thank Kami she was. He walked in and placed the still shaking Kit on one of the couches in the room. When the Godaime raised an eyebrow at him after looking at the boy Kakashi explained everything that had happened from the time they met him to the present.

Suddenly Kit sat up and bit his lip, tasting the blood as it seeped into his mouth. It tasted sweet and was very calming, not as calming as the blood of something else, but still enough to counteract the effects of the water.

Tsunade shivered a bit when she saw a small amount of blood escape from his lips. She still hadn't gotten over her fear of blood. It was then that she took the time to look him over. He would be about Naruto's age and height. He had fiery-red hair and looked like he could be very strong. His eyes were… just like Naruto's. No one could have those same cerulean eyes. But they were slitted; Naruto's eyes were only like that when he was using the Kyuubi's chakra, but then they were that demonic red color.

"Sorry about that Baa-chan."

Tsunade, who had lowered her head in thought, looked up sharply at what he had called her. "What did you just call me?"

Kit realized his slip up. "Well you are an old lady. Your genjustu isn't even half as good as it could be."

'Did this boy just insult me? How dare he!' Tsunade prided herself with her young age genjustu. Very few people had ever seen through it and no one had said anything about it being ineffective. She moved to punch him through the wall.

Her jaw dropped. He had caught her punch as if it were nothing. He had caught the same punch that would have sent Jiraiya flying.

Kit was getting uncomfortable with the Hokage staring at him like that. "What? I'm the Onikage's Heir. Oh, that's right. No one knew anything about me. Let me introduce myself. My name is Kit Bikyuu. My hobbies are training, learning new jutsus, and having fun. My dream is to become stronger than my father, who by the way is not the Onikage, and to find a certain traitorous snake."

"Nice to meet you…Kit. Now, mind telling me what that was about?"

"Sure! It was because of part of the building. You see some of us from Kagegakure have a small weakness to Holy Water. As you know it is used to ward off evil spirits and demons, but for some of us it makes us sick. I have a somewhat more severe reaction to the Water for some reason. It is usually cured with time and some rest." Kit smiled.

Tsunade studied him for a few more moments. He was being honest, but she could also tell that he wasn't telling the whole truth. She would look into it later, but for now; "You were seen here exactly one year ago. That day was the same day that one Uzumaki Naruto disappeared. What's more, you were seen in the last place that he was known to be at. Do you have any explanation for this?" her voice held an edge of steel. Nothing would come between her and any possible news of her brother.

"Actually I do. I'm sure you've heard that Uchiha Sasuke had attacked Naruto's Team on that day. Sasuke had stabbed Naruto through the heart with a chidori and Naruto, rather that set Kyuubi free, completely destroyed himself with the last of his chakra. I had felt the shock wave and went to investigate. I was actually on a mission to find him and gather information on his demon so that we could finish his seal." It was a huge lie and he knew it. "We knew that it wasn't finished because we were the ones that came up with the jutsu. How the fourth learned it we will never know. I'm sorry, but it seems that your little brother is no more."

Tsunade slumped back in her seat. It couldn't be. Her brother couldn't be dead. But it seemed that one more precious person had died. 'Naruto…' then with a sad voice she said; "Very well. You're free to go. The Chuunin Exam is in two days. Take your team and go to this hotel. Reservations have been made for you."

"I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, but I have no team. I will be taking the Exam alone. Here is a letter explaining everything, signed by the Onikage." He pulled out a scroll with the symbol of the Shadow marked on it and handed it over to the Godaime. He bowed and left, leaving a very sad Hokage to read over the scroll.

She read the scroll. She blinked and re-reads it. She then dropped the scroll, shocked. At the very bottom of the scroll was what she had waited twelve long months to her. Her little brother was alive.

_One year ago, _It read, _we found one Uzumaki Naruto, lying on the ground close to death. We brought him to the Shadow and nursed him back to health. After words we trained him after hearing of his past. We already knew of the Kyuubi, and you should be happy to know that She is no more. That's right Kyuubi was a girl, and had very good reason to attack your village. I will not say what that reason is. That is up to her successor. _Tsunade blanched at hearing that Kyuubi had a successor. _The new Kyuubi no Kitsune is none other than her vessel, Uzumaki Naruto, who is now known as Kit Bikyuu. As far as we know he holds no grudge against the Leaf and will aid if a war comes to pass, though he will not hesitate to defend himself if attacked. I must warn you not to reveal any of this though. Naruto (Kit) asked me to tell only you. _

_As for taking on the Chuunin Exams by himself, he can do it easily. Our best ANBU and I have trained him. But if you must, you have my permission to put him on one of your teams._

_Onikage of Kagegakure_

Niko Sensui 

'My little brother is alive!' tears of happiness streamed from her eyes. 'So that was why he knew those things. But why didn't you tell me yourself? And why do you look like that? Is it a henge, or is it because of Kyuubi?' She would find out soon enough.

The next day Tsunade sent Kakashi to go find their guest from the Shadow. She would be placing him on one of the teams. She believed the Onikage about Kit's strength, but one of her teams was one short.

Most of the Rookie Nine were still Genin and would be taking the exam again this year. Shikamaru had passed the year before and Sasuke had gone to Orochimaru and was no longer a part of the Leaf. Sakura had been promoted to Chunin several months ago due to the fact that she was Tsunade's student.

That left one team with two members. It was Team10, which was Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, under Sarutobi Asuma. Even though Shikamaru was a Chuunin he was allowed to stay with his team, but he could not take part in the Exam again. Kit's coming was a very good thing for their team because the Exam required teams of three and Kit would be filling the third spot.

Currently Asuma was on a solo mission so she would have to get a replacement, and she knew exactly whom she wanted; Kakashi. He no longer had a team and had been looking to take on a new one, so for now he would substitute for Asuma. He had already been told this and was very glad to take them on as his new temporary team. He was surprised when she told him that Kit would be joining them, but had not argued with her. Who knew, he might be able to copy some new jutsu.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the door opened and a red headed Shadow-Nin's head popped into view. "You wanted to see me Baa-chan?"

She grimaced at being called an old woman but kept her temper, barely. "Yes I did, Naruto." She added his name as an after thought and was pleased to see him jump at the name.

"Heh heh heh. So when did you figure out who I was? I knew you'd figure it out eventually, but I didn't think I was that obvious."

Tsunade smiled wide. So he really was her little brother. She stood up and hugged him, tears coming from her eyes. "Oh Naruto. I've missed you so much!"

Kit stiffened for a moment before hugging her back; "I've missed you to, baa-chan."

After a moment she shoved him away. "I expect you to tell me what happened sometime."

"Fine, I'll tell you after the exam. Now, are you going to let me take it solo or are you going to put me on a team?"

"You will be taking it on a team. You remember that Shikamaru passed last year? Well that left his team this year one short, so you will be joining Team 10 as their third member. Their sensei Asuma is on a mission right now, so Kakashi will be your temporary sensei."

Kit groaned; he really didn't want to have to deal with the silver-haired jounin. "You won't tell him who I am will you?" he asked suddenly.

"No I won't. I will leave that up to you, but the truth will come out sooner or later so…" she left the sentence hanging. "You should hurry up. Your team is waiting for you at their training grounds."

Kit bowed; "Latter Baa-chan!" and disappeared in a swirl of purple chakra.

Tsunade sighed after he was gone. 'He's finally back.'

At Team 10's training grounds, Ino was having a tantrum. "Where are they! Sakura warned me about Kakashi, but I never thought that he'd be this late." She fumed. "And where's our new member? Hokage-sama said he'd be here as well!"

There was a puff of smoke and there stood Kakashi who greeted them with his signature; "Yo." He looked around and noted one person was missing. "You seem to be missing someone." He knew that Shikamaru was on a mission with Asuma, so he wasn't talking about him. "Lets see… Ino, Choji and…"

He never had the chance to finish the sentence as a swirl of purple chakra appeared right in front of him. The chakra began to condense into the shape of a person. When the chakra settled Kit was standing in front of Kakashi; "I'm not late am I?" he looked over at Kakashi. 'I guess that answers that question' Kakashi was infamous for his lateness, and if he were later than him, he was most definitely late.

Ino just stared at him. He was… Hot. Almost like Sasuke had been, except that this guy had a warm aura around him. One that said that anyone could be his friend.

Kakashi looked at him lazily. Tsunade had already told him that the Shadow Nin would be on his team. "Well, let's get this started shall we? I'm sure you two know each other but you know next to nothing about me, and none of us know anything about you." He said pointing toward Kit. "So, introduction time. My name is Hatake Kakashi, my likes, hates and dreams are none of your business, but I have lots of hobbies. Now you." He indicated Ino.

She stood and bowed; "My name is Yamanaka Ino. My likes are cute boys. My dream is to…" she blushed. "I HATE Forehead-Girl." She spat the name as if it were diseased.

Kakashi sighed and pointed at Choji."

Choji stayed sitting, eating his chips as always; "My name is ((Eating noise every two words)) Akimichi Choji. I like eating and food. My likes are my friends Shikamaru and Ino. My dream is to one day open an all you can eat steak house. I dislike people who call others fat and pick on people because of their size."

Kakashi nodded. He had been expecting something like that. "Last is you." He waved at Kit.

Kit kept his eyes closed as if he were sleeping and stayed reclined against a tree. "My name is Kit Bikyuu. I like training and learning new jutsu. My dream is to become the Onikage of Kagegakure." Everyone frowned at that. Not because they didn't like the idea, but because it reminded them of their lost friend. Kit paid them no mind; "I hate people who hate others without reason and without really knowing who they hate." He said with finality. "Another thing is that I have triple rank." Everyone raised an eyebrow at that. Kit explained. "Your villages haven't known about my village before this year. There is also another village that has been hidden as well that the Shadow has an alliance with. Everyone in the Shadow has two ranks, one for our village and one for the other village. Out here, we are considered genin." Kakashi nodded in understanding. "In the other village, The Hidden Village of Alchemists, I am a Jounin. I won't tell you about any of my jutsu right now so don't bother asking, most are top secret. Any way, in my village I am one of the three Sanin." All of their jaws dropped at that. They had someone that was considered a Sanin, even if it was in his own village, on their team!

Kakashi was the first to recover; "Well, these two have already passed the real genin test, but you still have to prove it to me. And if you are a Sanin like you say, you should have no problem taking this bell from me." He said holding up a small silver bell. "And as a show of my respect I will even use this." He said revealing his Sharingan.

To say the least he was shocked when Kit started laughing. "That's nice and all, but it wont work. I will be using my own blood lines so you can't copy them." As if to prove his point his cloak shifted as one of his tails shot out, knocking Kakashi back several feet. To everyone else it looked like he had used the wind to attack.

Kakashi grinned and pulled out several shuriken and hurled them at Kit, who didn't even bother getting out of the way. The shuriken struck his dead on, but didn't pierce his skin. Kit cursed; "Damn, I don't have that seal on high enough." He was a demon after all. A simple shuriken would never pierce his skin unless he upped the strength of his power limiter. His opponent looked at him confused. "Never mind." And began making seals. "Fox Skill: Sixth Binding!" he yelled as six of his tails shot out and wrapped around both of Kakashi's arms and legs. The other two wrapped around his waist and neck.

Struggle as he might, Kakashi could not move. As he struggled he noticed something. Whatever was holding him was physical, it wasn't a jutsu. Second was that whatever was holding him was furry. And third was that not even his Sharingan could break the genjutsu that hid what bound him. 'It must be his Bloodline Limit. Too bad I can't copy it.' suddenly he was free to move again, and he no longer had the bells on him. He started searching his belt for them when a ringing brought his gaze to Kit who was jingling them in front of his face with a stupid grin on his face. "Very good. You pass. Meet us here tomorrow at 0700 hours. Don't be late."

Kit mumbled under his breath; "You should follow your own advice, pervert."

Both he and his sensei poofed out of sight a few seconds later, as their unseen guest joined the other two genin. It was Hyuuga Neji. He was rubbing his eyes as he joined the other two. "I must be seeing things."

Ino looked at him; "What do you mean? Sure he beat Kakashi, but that's not surprising as he is a Sennin in his own country."

Neji glared at her; "That's not what I meant. That boy… He had one hundred and twenty-eight tenketsus, twice as many as anyone else." He paused and then continued; "Another weird thing was his Inner Coils. It looked like he had two sets, one that spiraled right and one that went left. But all of this is impossible. That's why I say that I'm seeing things."

The others remained silent. All of them had the same thing on their mind; who or what was their new teammate.

In the Sound Nation, a frantic Chuunin raced through the halls of the Otokage Base. He rushed toward where Orochimaru and Sasuke were planning the takeover of Konoha. He ran through the door and was immediately pinned to the wall.

"I thought I made it very clear that we were not to be disturbed." Orochimaru hissed.

"I have very important news for Sasuke-sama!" the Chuunin managed to get out.

Sasuke got up and slowly walked over to the petrified Nin. He secretly felt sorry for him; he would die no matter how important his news was. "What is so important that you would disobey a direct order form the Otokage to tell me?"

The pinned Nin gulped; "Remember that shockwave last year?"

Sasuke nodded and motioned for him to continue.

"Well, a ninja from an unknown village just entered Konoha with a chakra signature the perfectly matches that of the wave."

As soon as the words left his lips he was again slammed against the wall; "You'd better think about what you just told me." Sasuke threatened. "Are you sure that his chakra matches the wave?"

"H-hai S-Sasuke-sama. W-we're sure it's him."

Sasuke dropped him on the floor and turned his back to the unfortunate Nin. "You had better be right or you will be begging to die by the time I'm done with you." The Nin just nodded before scrambling out of the room.

"So, you were right. He survived. Do you know what that other power was that he came in contact with?" asked Orochimaru.

"No, I don't. And I don't care. I will kill him either way. He got away last time because I was too quick in my judgment, but this time I won't make the same mistake."

Orochimaru nodded; "You know that the Chuunin exams are coming up in Konoha? That would be the perfect time to carry out our plan. You can finally kill him, and I can take over the Leaf. We will change how we look and take part in the exams ourselves."

"We? You mean that you are entering as well?"

"Yes. It has gotten too boring around here and I want to see some blood."

"I understand."

Sasuke and Orochimaru went back to their plans, altering them because of what they had just heard.

Several hours later Kit was standing in the middle of one of the training grounds, staring at the full moon. He jumped to the top of the tallest tree he could see and got a far away look in his eyes as he remembered what happened over the past year.


	5. Memories of the Past

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. I wish that I did, but I don't. So you don't sue. I don't own FMA either. Kagegakure and Niko are mine though.

"Blah" Normal

**Blah Demon**

'Blah' Thought

Last Chapter 

Several hours later Kit was standing in the middle of one of the training grounds, staring at the full moon. He jumped to the top of the tallest tree he could see and got a far away look in his eyes as he remembered what happened over the past year.

Part 6

Memories of The Past 

A twig snapped on the forest floor. Kit came back to himself with a start. This wasn't a good place to be remembering the past. He could be caught here and he didn't want that. Besides, he still had his den to set up.

Decided, he jumped from the tree and raced towards the North Gate. Outside of Konoha there was one section of forest near the wall that no one ever went near. It was the perfect place for him to set up one of his dens. The dens were small time-space pockets that completely removed the area from the laws of time and space. It was much like the Tsukuyomi. He controlled every element of the removed space. The best part was that no one would ever know that it was there. Only he and a few chosen others could enter, and the others only when he was inside. He could train for years inside and not a second pass on the outside, or years could pass on the outside and seconds on the inside. The only bad part is that it used all of his chakra. Afterwards he would have to sleep for several days.

He carefully chose a tree in the middle of the densest part of the forest. That tree would become the anchor for the jutsu, as well as the door into it. He carved off a circular patch of bark, ten inches in diameter. With a flick of his wrist, he carved the lines that would have to be inked into the clear patch. He split open his thumb and began to ink in the lines. It was incredibly complex and one mistake could send him straight to the other world. That was not something that he wanted to happen, thus it took him over an hour to accurately ink in the seals. After that was done he began with the hand seals to activate it. It was not a long sequence; the pattern in the wood had been the hard part. When he finished them, he pressed his hands, holding the last hand seal, into the center of the diagram, which caught fire and burned itself into the tree. Kit felt the effects instantly as he was dragged into his newly created den. Time would be the same inside as it was outside for now. He would alter everything later, but for now it was a black nothingness, save for the entrance, which looked like a white gate. Before he could think further on it he fell into a deep sleep in which his mind was free to wander. The past year played itself out before his minds eye.

Flashback 

He would learn some new jutsus before he returned. Because his senses were still new to him he had miscalculated the Konoha teams distance. He shot off just as they entered the clearing. They had seen him, however briefly.

He ran as fast as he could away from that place, not wanting any chance that he could be caught. He only sensed the team from Konoha. What he didn't know was that there was another group of people watching him. They knew he had carried a demon, they also knew what he had just done, and were proud of hi for not thinking twice about the consequences. They to had done the same thing. They were Shadow-nin, and every one of them had a demon or spirit living in them. The strongest of them had learned respect for the being inside them and merged with them, giving both more freedom. The Shadow Nation had been formed from various spirit vessels coming together; most of them had been driven from their homes or had left to find others like them. Some of them had had the spirits forced on them, like Naruto, but others had willingly been possessed. They knew all of the tricks to hide themselves from demons as well as humans and that is why Kit didn't sense them.

They followed him until he stopped at a canyon. They made their move and surrounded him. Kit charges them, but before he could get to them, they form a barrier to contain him. Kit smashes into the purplish clear wall and begins cursing in both the human and demon tongue. The nins surrounding him filch at his curses. 'How could as young as him know such language.' Their leader holds up his hands in a sign of peace. "We do not wish to harm you. We only want to talk without getting our heads bitten off. We will release you as soon as we have said what needs to be."

"Let. Me. Out. NOW!" Kit charges the barrier once again using his demon chakra this time.

The leader sighs and forms the hand seals, inu, ryu, saru, tora, oni. The wall breaks apart but instead of disappearing, the pieces attach themselves to the young demon lord becoming chains strong enough to hold him in place. "You are like us. Everyone from Kagegakure are vessels. Whether it be demon or spirit we are all vessels like you. Very few of us have achieved what you just did." He laughs at the expression on Kit's face. "Yes we know of that technique, though none of us have been fool enough to do it out in the open, especially those of us with higher level spirits, and it seems that's what you have. Care to tell use what your demon's name was?"

Kit hmphs. That was no surprise to him. Not even the Fourth Hokage could truly defeat the Kyuubi, and it took his life to even seal it, but the seal was now broken and he was stronger than ever. He would not attack Konoha again, but it was open season on the sound. Just the thought of them made Kit have some very nasty fantasies involving him ripping out someone's throat with his teeth and a few well places _1000 Years of Pain_. He begins chuckling at the images not being able to laugh outright because of those nasty purple chains. Kit shakes his head and manages to get out, "No, I don't trust you quite yet."

The nin shudders at the cruel intent radiating from the boy in front of him, even though he knows it isn't directed at them. "I can tell you still don't believe us, just by the look in your eye. Here, let us show you something." He takes off his shoulder guard revealing a cracked demon seal. He gestures for the others to do the same; none of their seals are cracked. Kit's eyes widen. "There, you see? We have not lied to you. Now is it safe to release you?" Kit nods and the nin releases his restraining jutsu.

"What do you want with me?" 'If all they're after is power they are the same as the sound.

"We would like you to come with us. We will teach you how to use your power to it's fullest as well as use both types of chakra, human and demon." Just then he notices something on Kit's right bicep. He jumps forward and grabs Kit's arm. Before the boy could do anything he says. "Interesting, it seems you weren't able to merge with him completely all at once. This has happened to only one other person and that was the current Onikage. He finished merging two months later. So, will you come with us to meet him?" On Kits right Bicep was a nine-lined spiral where each line took the shape of a foxtail. Only one tail had a bluish color to it, the rest were just black outlines.

"I'll have to think about that." He had been planning on traveling around to learn new skills before he would return. Here was a perfect opportunity but he still wasn't sure if he could trust these people.

"As a show of good will, we will teach you how to do a new skill. We know that you won't be able to use it yet because of the fusion, but it is still a good technique to know. It is called Kage Hada no Jutsu or Shadow Body Technique."

'Well, that's a point in their favor. They know that I cant use any jutsus and are going to teach me one.' He watches as the shadow junin performs some seals and turns into a semi-transparent shadow.

"All shadow genin know this skill. It is D rank. It would be higher except for a few flaws. When the user is inside of a shadow it is near impossible to be seen, only those who know what to look for could find the user, but when the user is in sun light, they may as well not be using it because it makes them easier to spot."

Kit thought about the jutsu, it would be useful during any information gathering missions in the future. "I'll go with you. But that doesn't mean that I'll stay."

"Excellent! Let's get going then." The rest of the team performed Kage Hada, knowing that the boy would be able to follow them by smell alone, even if he couldn't see them because it was getting dark. Kit set off after them.

Several hours later Kit came to a clearing where the shadow nins had set up camp. Their leader walked up to him. "You did good. It will take us another forty hours to get to Kagegakure. That was some light training to sharpen and get used to your demon senses. My name is Niko by the way."

"Ok… My name's Kit." Something didn't seem right about them, then it came to him "How did you get to me so fast. If it takes two days to get from Kagegakure to Konoha, what were you doing there?"

"I was wondering when you'd notice that. Actually we were in Kagegakure when you performed the ritual." Kit gives him a weird look. "You see there's a teleport jutsu that we can use, but only in the village, so it's a one way thing. That's why we're walking back, besides it being part of your training."

"That makes sense. So the trip is part of my training. Anything else you can teach or tell me on the way?"

"There is only one thing. We can't teach you how to use your chakra here, most of the time it is very destructive to the area around the person. What I can teach you is what's known as Demon's Immunity. It is D Rank because every fused and most possessed can use it. Every demon or spirit has two elements that they have complete control over. That element cannot harm them and the demon can use that one whenever they wish using virtually no energy. Shukaku for instance, his element is sand and air, because he was sealed in that boy, Gaara I think his name was, also has the same power. He uses sand without even thinking about it. Now before you ask, you couldn't use your demon's elements because it was not sealed into you before birth. Now you can because you are at least part demon. The amount of control and uses of it will depend on your Demon power. Most of our fused are Hanyou level, or Half demon, the lowest rank therefore they only have immunity. Our Kage is a Demon General level, while I'm a Low Class Demon. Before you fused your demon should have told you what your level would be."

"Yeah, Kyuubi said something about that." He didn't notice Niko's eyes widen at his demon's name. "Let me see… he said that I wouldn't be a regular demon… but I can't remember what level he said I'd be. I wish I had listened."

Niko had almost fallen over "Kyuubi! He was one of the highest-level demons there was, he was a Demon Lord, and there were only four demons that ever attained that level. They were the North, South, East, and West Demon Lords. Their names were Shukaku, Kyuubi, the one you fused with, Akuma, and Kyo. You fused with Kyuubi so that would make you the Demon Lord of the South. I had heard that the Kyuubi had been sealed, but I didn't believe it."

Kit ignores Niko's rambling, "So what's my element?"

To answer the boy's question he performs several hand seals. "Doton Doryuudan no Jutsu!" a high level dragon head made of earth rushes at Kit. His eyes widen as he sees it rushing at him.

One of the ninjas behind Kit makes some handseals. "Suiton Suiryuudan no Jutsu!" A dragon made from water heads toward Kit's back.

'No time to dodge it, have to block!' He crosses his arms in front of his face to shield his eyes. The dragons slam into him, but do no damage. They split in half on his arms and back. Kit opens his eyes and watches the water and earth swirl around him. He holds out one of his hands and gasps as the elements converge above it and condenses before entering his body. 'This feels good. I feel so warm, like I'm being surrounded by friends.'

Niko watches the kitsune in amusement. "You are a Doton/Suiton element and it seems that you have complete control of them. That's why it entered you. Only the highest-level spirits have the control to do that. I must warn you though because you are an incarnate of those elements, you have a weakness to fire and wood. Not in general, but if chakra is added to it, it will do some damage. The only way to cancel it is to use an attack with the same or more chakra in it."

"Cool! Anything else?"

"No. There is nothing else that I am allowed to teach you. The rest is for the Kage to teach you. He will have a test for you though. The fusion was part of the test, not many complete it and those that didn't died. Will you quit swinging those tails!"

Kit was surprised at this. He had hidden them yet Niko had seen them. "Sorry, I can't. How can you see them?"

Niko laughs "Another few lessons. One Onimetsuki doesn't work on others with the skill. The 'Hiding' aspect of it anyway. So we can see your tails. Even though they are hidden they can still cause damage. Two I will teach you how to control your tails. It's really simple. They are like another arm. You must concentrate on keeping them still. Once you can do that you can pretty much do what ever you want with them. It would be a good idea to learn this before we get to Kagegakure or the Onikage may give you his special tail training." Niko reveals that he has two tails as he rubs its base. "I got it and he hung me from the roof for two days." He winces at the memory. "Anyway, get some sleep. Tomorrow will be harder as we will be working on the rest of your senses." Kit nods and lies down and begins to dream of the day he would return.

True to Niko's word, the next day was much harder. When Kit awoke there was nobody there. He got up to search for them, but as he sat up he noticed a note beside him.

Don't bother looking for us around camp. By the time you read this note we will be several miles away. Use your senses to find us .You can even use demon eyes if you think that it will help. We hope to see you before nightfall.

_- Niko_

"Well, that explains why nobody is here." He looks around for a clue.

**Stupid Kit. Didn't you read the note? Use your senses. Try sniffing the air.**

Kit yelps in surprise "Kyuubi! You're still here."

**Yes kit. Until that mark on your shoulder is complete, I will** **still be here, maybe even after, if we both feel like it. Until then I will teach you some skills that even their Kage can't. Jutsus that only Demon Lords can do. But before I do, I want you to get used to your new body. Now do as I said and use your sense of smell to find which way they went. It should be fairly easy.**

"Ok. Sounds fair." He takes a big sniff at the air and immediately covers his nose with a sick look on his face.

In the back of his mind Kyuubi is laughing **Hahahahaha. (Laughing undertone) Take smaller whiffs Kit. Your nose is even more sensitive than a dog's now. Normal breathing should be enough for you to find their trail. Later I will teach you how to temporarily lessen your senses. Believe me, they can give one hell of a headache sometimes. Do you remember what any of them smelled like?**

"Ummm. Niko smelled like pine trees and a little like squirrel. The rest I didn't really pay attention to."

**Good. For now let's have some fun. Concentrate on your coils. You can't use chakra yet but you can do a few things without it, like the Demon eyes and Demon's Immunity. One other thing you can do is shape shift into the form of what was sealed inside. So you can be any type of fox with as many tails as you like. Anything else will use chakra. Now concentrate on your coils, you will see something that resembles a fox. **There is a pop, similar to the sound a bushin makes when it appears. Where Kit once stood now sits an orange fox with nine tails. **You found it. Now let's go find those shadow nins.**

(This is for those of you who think that Kit has to have some demonic nature. He is a demon lord for Kami's sake)

Two hours later a sound nin came across a strange site. An orange nine-tailed fox was sniffing the ground, apparently looking at something. He decided to catch it and give it to Orochimaru. He would like it, after all, there had only been one other nine-tailed fox and it had almost destroyed Konoha. He began to sneak p on it when the fox lifted its head and looked at him. It had dark blue eyes. The fox looked him over, but when it saw his forehead protector it's eyes turned blood red and started leaking an intense Killing Intent. His Intent was so strong that it completely dwarfed anything that he had ever felt from his master. The nin was ore afraid of this fox than he was of Orochimaru, as crazy as it sounds it was true. Just then the fox leapt at him, faster than should have been possible, with claws extended and fangs bared. He had no time to scream for help from his team which were only fifty feet away, as the fox tore out his throat with his fangs and proceeded to use him as a scratching post. When the fox was done the only thing that could have identified him was his hitai-ate, what was left of the body was clawed and ripped to the point where his insides were falling out. His neck was almost non-existent. Even his mother could not have recognized his face.

At the smell of blood the dead nins teammates came to investigate. What they saw horrified them, even though they were ninja, what they saw had them retching their breakfast all over the forest floor. When they finished, they saw the fox standing next to the body, blood dripping from his mouth and bloodstained claws. This was the creature that killed their teammate. They pulled out their kunai, but before they could throw them, they were as dead as the other guy. Kit spent the next half-hour mauling and disfiguring the bodies. His rage at the sound knew no bounds. When he finished, the smell of blood was so thick in the air that he had a hard time finding the shadow nins trail, but find it he did. And he loved every minuet of it.

Niko and his team were just finishing their dinner as the nine-tailed demon walked into their camp. Niko could smell the blood even before he saw him. "Seems that our friend has been having some fun." Kit sat down beside him after he changed back to his human form. "Let's get you cleaned up while you tell me what happened." He pulls Kit towards a nearby river.

Kit tells him how he encountered the sound nins and couldn't help himself. He just had to kill them. When Niko heard what the fox did to them he shuddered, the sound had made a powerful enemy somehow. He looks over at Kit "How did you change your form. I didn't teach it to you?"

Kit replies "Kyuubi told me. He is going to be teaching me some of his jutsus until we are fully merged. It seems that he had too much power for me to fuse with at one time."

"Ok. That would make sense. He was a Demon Lord after all. Any way were close to Kagegakure. We will take you there tomorrow. I am impressed with how quickly you've gotten used to your new body. You've even gotten control of your tails." Niko smiles. "Let's go to bed. Tomorrow you will meet the Onikage." He walks back towards the camp.

Kit quickly follows but doesn't lie down next to the fire. Instead he jumps up into the nearest the fire and lies down on a branch directly over the fire. He felt more comfortable there than he did on the ground. He was warmer here and the smell of smoke from the fire was comforting, and he quickly fell asleep.

The next day, when he awoke the shadow nins were still there. Niko was sitting beside him. "Good, you're up. As soon as you are ready we will head for the Shadow Village"

Kit nods before taking off towards the river. He slowly gets in. the water was freezing cold, but he still liked it. **You are Water incarnate, that's why you like it, but its still too cold. Try using your inner power to alter the water around you. ** Kyuubi senses Kits thought on that last comment. **No! This has nothing to do with Fuzzy Brows' sensei! I'm not into that youth power stuff. I was talking about your, literal, inner power. Contained where I was once imprisoned are Gaint Mountains and wide oceans. If they were brought to the physical plane they would be about the size of the planet.** **As I said you are water incarnate. Your body, skin, and organs are all made of Earth and Water. It cannot be felt or detected in anyway from the outside. Now warm up this freezing river before you pass out!**

Kit focuses on were Kyuubi once was. In his mind he sees an enormous ocean. He walks up to it, walks into it. As he does in the outside world the water around him begins to change. He opens his eyes to see the steam rising from the lake. "Cool. What else can you show me?"

**Nothing else right now Kit. Later, when you are stronger I will teach you** **Demon Jutsu. But right now you aren't strong enough. **Kit sits and soaks in the steaming water for a little bit. Being made of water, the immense beings in the river did not harm him in the least; in fact they quite enjoyed his presences.After a few minuets he got out. The moment he did the water stopped steaming, and his body dried instantly by bringing the water form outside in.

He walked back to Niko thinking about all the fun things he could do with Demon's Immunity. He would have to be careful, he might start wanting to start earthquakes and get everyone wet. Niko looks him up and down. He had seen the steam rising form the river. "You ready to go?" at Kit's nod he got up. "We will reach the village in an hour. The village really is hidden so we will ask you never to reveal the location to anybody. When you return to the leaf, if you decide to comeback, make sure no one follows you." Kit nods again. "Let's go then."

One hour later, they are standing at the mouth of a dark cave. Nothing could be seen past the entrance. Niko sees Kit's hesitance to enter. "Don't worry. It's just a genjustu. Once you pass through it you will be able to see fine." He pushes Kit past the illusion and quickly follows.

Niko was right. After you got past the genjustu lanterns hanging every five feet showed the way. They followed the past as it descended into the earth. After ten minuets they came to the end of the tunnel. What Kit saw there shocked him. He knew that there would be a village down there, but he didn't expect it to be so big. It was at least the size of Konoha, if not bigger. Lanterns brightly lighted it, even if those were doused, there was a gigantic light source hanging a hundred yards above the village. He couldn't tell what it was made from; all he knew was that it looked like a mini sun. People walked the streets, thought it was less populated than Konoha, but that was to be expected, as Konoha wasn't actually hidden. In the center of the cavern was what looked like the Hokage's tower. It rose several stories into the air and was elegantly made. The top two floors seemed to be made only of glass, it would give anyone inside a great view of the village. "Welcome to the Village of Shadows! Where all vessels are welcomed with open arms." Niko says grandly. He notices that Kit is staring about in wonder.

"Nice isn't' it? It was built in one of your old dens." Kit nodded at this; he had thought that it felt familiar. "You should get going. That building in the center is the Onikage's Tower. It should be easy enough to find so I will leave you here. I have business to see to. If you get lost, ask any of the villagers. They would be happy to tell you. Later." Niko vanishes in a puff of ninja smoke.

Kit sniffed the air, trying to see which way the man went, but all he got was the smell of smoke. Kit shrugged 'He said he'd see me later. I'll go see the Onikage now, and I'll find him later.' He quickly descends the ramp that lead from the tunnel entrance to the village below.

As he walked through the streets, he noticed a few things. One, everyone had either a glow about them, or had varying numbers of tails. None of them seemed bothered by them, or tried to hide it, so he 'revealed' his nine fox tails. 'Though if what Niko said was true, they could see them already.' Second, he noticed that everyone was happy and didn't look at him with anger and hate in their eyes. Instead there was a look of warm welcome. Third was that all of the buildings had been carved from the living rock they were the same tan color as the walls. This was a place where he could live in peace, or as close to it as a shinobi got to it.

He got lost several times on his way to the Onikage's tower. (How I have no idea.) When he asked for directions the people smiled and pointed in the right direction, saying that they hoped to see him around. 'The people here really are nice.'

When he finally made it to the tower he had decided that this would be like his second home, he loved the place. Two shadow ANBU stood next to the doors. They had been told that a nine-tails would be coming, they were curious to see what type he was; after all, it wasn't everyday that you saw a nine tails. Even in a city filled with vessels. They stopped Kit at the door. "What is your business here?" they were surprised that he was a fox type. There had only been one nine-tailed fox in recorded history, and it had disappeared long ago. Only showing up thirteen (?) years ago. No one knew, except for the people of Konoha, what had happened? And they weren't telling. The guards knew very well what he was there for, the Onikage had told them himself, but it was still their job to ask.

Kit replied, "Niko told me that I should see the Onikage. Can I see him now?" he noticed the weird look they gave him when he said that. "What?"

"Nothing. You can go. He should be on the top floor." As soon as the guard was done talking Kit dashed through the door. He was up the stairs and in front of the Kage's office a minuet later. His passing had been so fast that the few ANBU that had seen him were rushing after him to see what was the matter.

Kit knocked on the door and a familiar voice responded. "Come in. I've been waiting for you."

The door was in splinters a second later with Kit standing amid the wreckage. He was pointing an accusing finger at the man sitting in the Onikage's chair. "You! Why didn't you tell me you were the Onikage!"

The man just laughed. "I'm sorry. But now you know and I will personally be teaching you." Kit jumped on him.

"Niko! I'm gonna kill you!" Niko, or the Kage just laughed harder. Just at that moment several of the shadow ANBU ran in. Kit's eyes grew wide as he recognized two of the faces. Itachi and Kisame were among the nins. He had not noticed it before, but all of the AMBU had been wearing black cloaks with red clouds on them.

Itachi spoke. "Is something wrong Onikage? Oh. Its you Naruto."

Kit looks at Niko, "Akatsuki is your ANBU?" Niko just nods. Kit turns to Itachi "So this is why you've been after me." It was a statement, not a question, but Itachi nodded anyway. "Why did you kill your entire clan? Don't tell me it was to test your power. I know that isn't the real reason."

Itachi smiles "You're smarter than that weakling brother of mine. The truth is that I really didn't kill them. It was Orochimaru using a henge. He wanted my brother and my clan wouldn't give him to the snake. It seems he got Sasuke any way. You'll bring him back right? You are the only person he would listen to."

Kit laughed, "He tried to kill me. Twice. I really doubt he'd listen to me, but I did make a promise. It is my ninja way to never give up, so I will get him back. And if you hadn't noticed, I don't look like I used to, and my name's not Naruto any more. It's Kit. I have your brother to thank for the change."

Itachi looks sad for a minuet, but then he nods. "Let's go. I will train you along with Niko. If you were wondering why I'm here, it is because of the Mangekyou Sharingan. I am considered a demon because of it. I will teach you how to use the Sharingan part of Onimetsuki, as well as how to fight my brother. Come." Itachi turns and walks out of the office.

Kit asks Niko if it is ok. After he receives a nod, he runs out after the Rogue Uchiha. Itachi led him to a small training ground. Itachi puts his weapons on the ground before walking up to Kit. "You have probably have heard that Akatsuki is made up of only nine members. That's not quite true. The Nine known members are the only ones that look for vessels. The others do regular missions. Us nine are known as Akatsuki, we bring every vessel we find here, though none of them were as much trouble as you." He gave Kit a sidelong look. "And still we could not bring you. You came on your own." He shakes his head. "Before we start Niko told me to teach you how to re-use your chakra. It is true that you have to re-learn it, but before you can do that you have to have what is called a baptism. I will give it to you. I will explain how it works. When a human and another spirit fuse the chakra system is messed up. The person is unable to use it. The only way to fix it is to have another Hanyou, or human spirit mix, force some of his chakra backwards through the other's system. It is extremely painful because, one the chakra goes in backwards, and two it is similar to Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou (Divination, 64 strikes). Are you ready?"

Kit winced, but nodded. He remembered the time when Neji had hit him with it during the Chunin Exams. It was only because of Kyuubi that he had won the match.

Itachi began by entering the Hyuuga's Gentle Fist pose. "You are in range of my Divination." The green yin/yang appeared under him, with the other parts showing up afterwards. "Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou!" He begins to strike Kit's tenketsus. "Two strikes. Four strikes. Eight strikes. Sixteen strikes. Thirty-two strikes. Sixty-four strikes of Hakke!"(?) Kit falls to the ground.

The pain was excruciating. It was like being encased in dry ice and then having it shatter, ripping his skin off piece by piece. He wanted to howl out his pain, but it was impossible. His body began to shake violently. And then it stopped. The pain was replaced by warmth. His chakra paths had been fixed and the energy was now flowing the way it was supposed to. It filled him, erasing any damage that had been done to him. Kit sighed. "That hurt." He tries to mold his chakra but still cannot, but this time he could feel it moving.

Itachi only laughs. "Here." He helps Kit up. "There should be no lasting effects. Now I will teach you how to use your new chakra." He grabs Kit's hand and draws a black spiral in the middle of his palm. "Focus your energy on the spiral. Imagine it starting at the outer edge ad following the line to reach the center." Kit closes his eyes and focuses on the mark. As Kit does this the ink slowly becomes a dark violet. When it reaches the center it begins to rise from his palm, much like a laser. He opens his eyes, when he saw the chakra rising from his palm he lost concentration and it disappeared. "Very good. I didn't expect you to get it on your first try."

Kit keeps staring at his palm. "Was that mine? I thought it would either be blue like mine used to or red like Kyuubi's."

Itachi shakes his head. "Nope. Your chakra had become one. The colors mixed and became stronger. For now we will work with low-level ninjutsus. Niko will teach you Taijutsu and some ninjutsu as well. I will teach you genjustu. Let's get started."

Several months later Kit was much stronger than he had ever been. He had come a long way from what he used to be. He had been fully accepted by the shadow counsel and was now a Kage Genin. He might have been higher, but he had no team. His Taijutsu was very strong now. He had been taught in the Seven Luminaries Style. A long forgotten style, except for the shadow. The only ones capable of learning it were demons, spirits, and their vessels. Otherwise it couldn't be copied. It used a mix of both light and darkness, human and demon. With spirits it used aura to attack, while with tailed-demons it used the tails to their advantage. It had taken a long time to learn it, but when he did Kit was very pleased with the results. Itachi had taught him all there was to know about genjustu and he was now capable of performing the Tsukuyomi. Kyuubi had taught him a few elemental jutsus, mostly earth and water, but no fire or wood. Kyuubi had flatly refused to teach him those, and even if he would have, Kit wouldn't have wanted them. Both he and Kyuubi had a deep hatred of fire and heat. They had less hatred for wood, but they still didn't like it, and wouldn't teach or learn it.

Today he would receive his first B-Class mission. Before he went to see the Onikage he had sealed a portion of his power. The seal, located on the palm of his right hand, looked like a nine-pointed star with a different kanji at each tip. Over all it was less than one and a half inches in diameter. The seal had caused his power levels to be the same as a high level Chuunin from an unknown village. He would not tell what village he was from, unless they already knew. An interesting fact about the shadow was that every one of their genin could rival most Chuunin, so he was limiting himself to shadow genin level. He didn't mind. He would be on a team with other 'Chuunin' and a 'Jounin', based on their sealed levels, and if needed they could all alter the seals to let them use more or all of their power.

He quickly walked into the Onikage's office. "Ne, Niko-sensei! What's the mission?"

Niko smiled and handed over a small scroll. "You, Itachi, and two people of your choice, will be helping an old friend of mine. His name is Major Alexander Armstrong from the Hidden Alchemy Village. He is also known as the Strong Arm Alchemist. You will be taking over from him as escort for the Elric Brothers. Their names are Edward, aka the Fullmetal Alchemist, and Alphonse. They prefer to be called Ed and Al. they have been on a mission to create a Philosophers Stone. Ed lost his right arm and left leg while performing the forbidden Human Transmutation, while his brother lost his entire body."

"Then how can he still be alive?"

"I was just getting to that. Ed gave his arm in order to seal his brothers soul into a suit of armor, much like the Yondaime did to the Kyuubi. Ed now has artificial limbs made from automail. You will meet them at Grand Central, Alchemy Village. You may use the teleportation room because they need you there as soon as possible. Get going! Maybe they will teach you some of their jutsus."

Kit ran off to get his team. As soon as they were ready they went to the teleportation room. The room was pure white on the walls and ceiling. The floor was mostly white, but had black seals inscribes in it. His team stood in the middle then activated the runes on the floor. For each mission it was pre-programmed to take them to a certain place. In this case it was the Hidden Alchemy Village.

Over the course of the next two-months he followed the short blond man and his armored brother. During that time they taught him all of the laws of Alchemy as well as how to create arrays. Because of his demon side he caught on quickly and at the end of the two months he was nearly as good as Ed at it. He no longer had to use arrays; he could do it the way Ed did, which was much easier. As a gift for teaching him, Kit taught Ed and Al the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu. They were fairly good at it. They could at least create four clones of them selves. The mission ended when Major Armstrong came back and re-took over the escort. Kit was sad that he had to leave, but he promised the brothers that they would meet up again.

As soon as he returned Niko told him that it was time that he returned to Konoha. The Chuunin exams would be taking place soon and he wanted Kit to enter as a Leaf-nin. He would still be part of the shadow, the leaf just wouldn't know. It wouldn't matter any way. The shadow didn't get in any wars that weren't waged against them. They did missions and hunted missing nins, that was all they did for the villages that knew of its existence, though none of them know where the village was. Kit didn't want to return just yet, but Niko made it very clear that he was to go. He had no choice in the matter. Niko said that he could walk instead of using the room. Kit gladly accepted, it would be good for him to train and to think about what he would do once he got there.

Kit set off at midnight the next day. He preferred to be out at night, it was more fun for one thing. Before he got to Konoha he stopped at the clearing he had made one year ago. It was just as bare as when he had left. Just for fun he decided to use alchemy to create a headstone there. On it he inscribed. _Here lies what remains of the demon of Konoha. Reincarnation will play its role and a new demon will rise from the ashes of the last. May his enemies quake in fear of his successor, for he will be more powerful than the last, and all the village has to blame is itself._

End Flashback

Kit awoke in the blackness of his den, smirking at his last memory. 'Yes, all they have to blame is themselves.' With that, he set about creating what would be his new home.

A.N: Special thanks to PhiloWorm as my Beta.

Next Chapter: The Chuunin Exam, and Kit learns of The Will of Fire.


	6. Chuunin Exams

Disclaimer: I Don't Own It. You Don't Sue.

"Talking"

'Thinking'

**Demon**

Part 7

**Chuunin Exams**

Kit sat looking around at the blackness around him. The darkness didn't bother him; it was that the darkness was all there was. So he set about creating his new home. Trees arose out of the darkness. It was like watching an entire forest grow right before your eyes. His home would be as nature, only with a few changes. He used his mastery of Doton and Suiton to create a river running along one side of the clearing and a hot springs a few meters away from that. On the other side he set up a hammock between two large trees. He would not want to sleep in that everyday, so he made a VERY large, VERY soft mattress on the ground next to the hammock. On top of that thousands of small pillows appeared. He would be able to burrow himself in it if he got really sleepy or bored. The grass in the clearing was of the deepest green, and moss grew a few feet up some of the trees. It would be perpetual twilight in his den, but in the center and close to the water, many glowing crystals rose out of the ground.

Satisfied with his work he went towards the white gate. The moment he stepped out his face lit up with a maniacal grin. He smelled it. The one thing that he would love more than anything to sink his claws and fangs into. He smelled snake. And not just snake, he smelled cursed blood, the stench that came from a cursed seal. He smelled Sasuke and Orochimaru! He was so intent on his bloody fantasies; he didn't notice the four people that were watching him.

Sakura, having heard that there was a hot guy on Ino's team, had immediately set off looking for the read-head. She couldn't find him anywhere. That was when she met up with Ino and Choji, Shikamaru was off on a mission. They had also been looking for Kit. They hadn't seen him since he dissapeared, and they were worried. They asked around the village to see if any one knew where he was. After five hours someone told them that he had seen a hot red haired guy going towards the forest. Hearing this they ran off towards the woods, where they ran into Hinata. She had also heard that Kit had come here. For some reason, he reminded her of Naruto.

Hinata had come several hours earlier and had been witness to a strange sight. The guy who reminded her of her crush had walked out of a gate that had opened up in one of the trees across from where she had been searching. She saw him stop suddenly and grin evilly. She watched intently until she felt a hand on her shoulder. She nearly fainted from fright, before she noticed that it was only Sakura, Choji, and Ino. They asked if she had seen Kit. Hinata only pointed behind her. All four of them watched the boy. He seemed to be really happy about something, he was grinning like crazy, before a wave of intense killing intent washed over them. Instinctively they knew it wasn't them it was aimed at, but no one else was around.

That was when his shape-shift began to falter. His hair flashed between red and blond, and his cloths changed color between black and orange. A strong wind kicked up behind him. Hinata activated her Byakugan and gasped at what she saw. Violet chakra was leaking out of the boy, making the dust storm around him. He suddenly calmed down and collapsed. Something was glowing behind his fallen form. Everyone rushed over to see if he was ok. It seemed that he had collapsed from chakra exhaustion. After she knew he was aright she walked up to the glowing object and deactivated her Dojutsu. What she had seen was a complex jutsu that had been performed on the tree in front of her. No wonder he had collapsed. That seal must have taken a lot of chakra to make and it looked as if he had just awoken. "We should take him to Tsunade-sama." Said Sakura while she was picking him up. Hinata, Ino, and Choji ran to help her, though she didn't need it. Kit was surprisingly light.

They left him with Tsunade who had been just as worried as they had been. As soon as they left Kit woke up. He yawned before cracking his neck. He knew that Tsunade was standing behind him. "Don't worry Baa-chan. I'm fine. Just used up too much energy creating my home. Orochimaru and Sasuke are here by the way. They must be here for the exams." His eyes turned dark. "They're mine. No one else is to touch them." Them he smiled. "Besides, I'm not sure what they look like. They're probably using a henge. I just smelled them."

Tsunade hit him on the head. "Idiot."

Kit flinched. Even though he was a demon that still hurt.

"What was that seal on your arm? I wasn't able to find it in any of our scrolls."

Kit laughed, "You wouldn't. It's a fusion seal. Only a few people who fuse get one. All it is is a gauge for how close to completion the fusion is." He pulls up his sleeve revealing the whole seal. It was 2/3 colored. Three tails were ice blue while another three were earth brown. The pattern they went in was brown, blank, blue, brown, ect. For some reason he couldn't get the last three tails to accept him. Kyuubi had said that it was something that they both had missed from the fusion. The tails had accepted him as he became more adept at controlling the elements that they were linked to. Kyuubi didn't know how many tails were attached to either element, but he was sure that Naruto had full mastery of Doton and Suiton and that the last tails were not connected to those elements, but to something else. He would eventually figure out what it was.

"So you haven't completely fused with the fox. Do you know why he attacked us thirteen years ago?"

Kit frowned. "Yes, I do. It was Konoha's fault actually. Kyuubi had found a mate earlier that year. Their kits had just been born when a group of shinobi from Konoha attacked and killed all of them. Kyuubi had just returned when they were leaving. When she saw what they did, she swore that she would have revenge. That's right, Kyuubi was a girl." 'A rather hot one at that.'

**Why thank you Kit.**

"That's also why she took me in as her own several years ago when I first learned of her."

Tsunade was shocked. Kyuubi wasn't the blood-thirst killer Konoha thought it was. If what Kit/Naruto said was true, no wonder he had fused with the demon. Wait a second! "Does that make you a demon?" she hoped that it didn't.

Kit nodded. "I was a half demon anyway. Fusing with Kyuubi just made me a full demon. Not all demons are evil. Only the most known ones, besides Kyuubi, were. Most of them help people, even though people don't recognize it. Some people call them luck or chance, but it really is a demon helping someone. Demons have ranks as well, but I wont tell mine. They are kind of like shinobi, except for being more powerful, and not having separate villages. They have only one village, close to the Shadow, which is a Hanyou village. Only demons can enter either village. And no, I wont tell you where they are."

Tsunade humped. 'They would have made great allies. Oh well at least Naruto's back, even if he is a demon.' "You should get going. The Chuunin exams start in two days and you missed out on a lot of training."

Kit turns to leave. "Later then Baa-chan." He ran out the door, just barely escaping the one-ton desk that the Hokage had thrown at him. 'Geeze! That woman is scary!'

One hour later, Sakura, Ino, Choji, and Kit were waiting at Team 7s Bridge. Ino and Sakura were fighting over some boy ((him)), while Choji was eating from his never-ending bag of chips. Sakura was there only because of him. Kit was sitting on the bridge's railing watching the girls fight while talking with Kyuubi about what could be the problem with completing the seal. Sakura and Ino hadn't noticed when his hair had changed color earlier, not that they would have paid much attention to it. They were fighting over who was the best. It was obvious that they were still attached to Sasuke-kun, or so he thought. Kit growled mentally at the thought. 'Stupid humans. Forgive a traitor and condemn the demon. How did Niko ever convince me to come back?'

Just then Kakashi appeared on the bride with a puff of smoke. Ino and Sakura yelled "YOUR LATE!" Kit was laughing on the inside at this. This could have been considered early for the masked jounin, he was normally three hours late.

"Well, I saw a fish flying in the sky and stopped to watch it." A chorus of "YEAH RIGHT!" followed his excuse. "Fine then. Today you will be training for the Chuunin Exam, but before that." He gets an evil glint in his eye.

Kit sees it. 'No, no, no. Please don't be…" 'Not again.'

"You will be taking the Bell Test, this time as a team.." He gives his students a bright smile while showing them the bells. "You have three hours starting now."

All of them were groaning. Kit got an idea. Ino, and Choji disappeared, they all knew the point of the test, but they still had to come up with a plan. Sakura stayed where she was, she wasn't part of the team so she didn't have to help. When Kit didn't follow they thought that they were doomed. Kit made thirteen random hand-seals, just to make it look like a jutsu, before calling out "Fox Skill: Earth Bind no Jutsu!" he shot out six of his tails into the ground, pushing his chakra into the ground. The earth below Kakashi turned into quicksand and he began to sink into it as another six tendrils of sand wraped around Kakashi's hands, feet, waist, and neck. "Hey Ino. Don't you think it would be nice if he handed the bells over."

Ino caught on to the idea. Kakashi couldn't move, therefore there was no chance that she would miss. "Shintenshin no Jutsu!" she possesses Kakashi's body and Naruto pulls his tails back, but not before Ino felt them. 'That was weird. That felt furry and it moved like it was alive. But nothing was there!' She takes the three bells and hands them to everyone else. "Kai!" her soul shoots back into her own body, while Kakashi is still in a daze.

"Uh, you all pass."

Kit, while no one was paying attention to him, created a bunshin. Afterwards he left using his Kage Hada no Jutsu, while leaving the bunshin in his place while he went in search of the snake smell. His bloody fantasies started again. He would kill them both, but not before they suffered. He would kill them slowly, giving the pain of a thousand deaths before he would finally let them die. They would beg him to kill them, death would come as a gift, but only after they felt a demon's wrath.

As he neared the source of the stench, he dropped his shape shift. His hair became short, spiky, and bright blond. He allowed his claws to extend a little bit and his fangs to grow. Lastly he shed his cloaking on his eyes and tails. No one would be around the snake. They were deep in the forest. His black cloths turned a light tan, almost white. He had two leather belts around his waist with silver buckles. The silver was the nine-tails spiral, the symbol of the Kyuubi. His sandals turned into light, but strong hunters boots.

He smelled the snake just ahead, not twenty feet away from him. He was talking with Sasuke. Kit decided to have some fun. He began to chuckle evilly, while Kyuubi aided her Kit making it louder and more sinister. When the two started looking for the source of the intruder, his chuckling turned into a full-blown demon's laugh. They couldn't find him. Orochimaru called out, "Who's there! Show yourself coward. Come and face me."

Kit stepped out from the surrounding trees. His laughing had died down, but they could see that he was still laughing quietly. He turned to face Sasuke. Neither of the sound nins looked like they had when Kit had last seen them. They wore grass hitai-ate, and had apparently stolen their identities. Both were using a henge. "Well well well. I didn't think I'd see you so soon teme. You don't look like you did a year ago."

Sasuke growled. Only one person had even called him that, and he was dead. "Who are you? And my name's not Sasuke."

Kit laughed again. "Of course you're not. And that man behind you isn't Orochimaru."

Both 'grass' nins gasped. The henge they were using was so strong that Kabuto had not been able to tell who they were.

Kit scoffed "Oh come on! You can change how you look, but you can never erase your scent. And you both reek of snake!"

That was when they noticed the nine tails swinging lazily behind him. Orochimaru murmured "Kyuubi. How? You were sealed in Naruto."

Sasuke gaped. 'The nine tailed fox hadn't been killed! It was in the dobe. Well that explained a lot.'

Kit shook his head. "You're close. But I'll leave you to figure that out for yourselves. See you in the exams." With that he turned to leave.

He did not make it ten paces before he heard, coming from behind, "Katon, Karyuu Endan!"

He turns to see a dragon shaped blast of fire rushing towards him. 'Shit! There's no time to block, even being water incarnate. Damn it! This is going to hurt.' He braces himself for impact, knowing that it will do major damage. The flames reach him, but instead of burning him like it was supposed to, it wrapped around him. "Nani? What's going on?" His body was beginning to absorb the flames just like it did with the water and earth attacks one year ago.

He feels the slight tingling on his bicep that always signaled another tail merging with him. He looks at the seal. One of the three blank tails was becoming blood red. He looks at the stunned Sasuke; "Well, that was interesting." He continues his way back to his den while having a mental conversation with the Kyuubi.

'I thought that I only had two elements! How can I have a third? Water and fire don't mix.'

**I never said that you only had two elements. I only said that I had two. I didn't know if you had it, so I didn't say anything.**

'Have what?'

**Haven't you heard of Konoha's Will of Fire? The old man Hokage was talking about it before he died. Anyway, you were born in Fire Country. Fusing with me must have caused the element to side with you, despite you also being water. Usually they don't mix. Mater of fact, they have never worked together before. Nature must like you to have gotten them to work together. That or they both like you enough to forget their quarrel.**

'You're talking about the elements as if they were people. Why?'

**In a sense, they are. All the elements are aware of themselves and can choose whom they will serve. Nature is really the combination of all elemental awareness. It is every element, but does not side with just one. It stands for balance. Which is one reason why you have both. When we get to the den, I want you to go to the elemental room in your mind. Since you don't have a teacher for Katon, that element will teach you itself.**

When Kit was sure he was far enough away from the snake he transformed back into his preferred form. He had much to think about.

While all this was going on, Team 7 was having a sparing match. Kakashi was watching all of them and giving advice here and there. While his students were fighting, he noticed something strange about Kit. He was making all efforts not to get hit by Ino. That in itself was not very weird, Ino was scary when she was mad. No, it was that every time he almost got hit he made an overly strong chakra cushion to keep from getting hit. Something was not right about that. Kit had been known for his ability to take large amounts of damage and still keep fighting, proven when Tsunade knocked him through several walls and walked away like it was nothing. Yes, something was definitely not right about the boy.

He called a halt for the day, saying that they should rest up for the Chuunin Exams that was in two days. As his students were leaving he secretly followed Kit. The boy wasn't going to where his temporary apartment was; he was instead heading for the forest surrounding Konoha. Now, while no one was watching, he would find out if his suspicions were correct. He jumped down behind the boy, quickly striking his shoulder. For a moment nothing happened. Then the boy burst into a puff of smoke. 'Just as I thought, a Kage Bunshin. But how did he manage to make it and leave without me noticing. And why did he leave for that matter. I'll have to ask next time I see him.'

Kit had felt his bunshin disappear just before he made it to the gate to his den. 'It seems I was found out. I hope Kakashi doesn't say anything about it.' The gate tree was just ahead. Kit extended one claw and nicked his thumb, swiping the blood across the entrance key. The gate tree seemed to grow while a shimmering black hole, surrounded by a ring of white, opened up in the tree. Kit stepped through into the world of his own creation, the gate closing behind him, still leaving the outline of the gate on the inside, but no trace on the outside.

Kit sighed as he walked towards the pile of cushions. All he wanted to do was relax. It had taken a lot of will power not to rip that bastard's throat out then and there. Shaking his head to clear himself of his thoughts he launches himself at the soft pile. The moment he landed he buried himself deep into the cushions, even though it was always twilight in this world, he wanted absolute darkness for just a little bit. It would take to much effort to change his surroundings, so he settled for the darkness inside the pile.

He made it to the bottom and sat down to meditate. That was the easiest way for him to reach the elemental room. When he was first learning to meditate it had been hard, he couldn't clear his head for more than three seconds. Eventually he was able to just sit and think of nothing, or consciously enter the world inside his mind. Before it had taken a near death experience of Kyuubi pulling his consciousness to bring him there. Now he could enter the room with only a little bit of meditation.

Within moments he was inside the world of his mind. It was no longer the damp sewer that it had once been. Now the world of his mind was like a palace hall. The walls, floor and ceiling were of white marble. Elegant pillars ran down along both walls. Atop each pillar was a bowl of oil that had been set alight, softening the walls. He made his way to the cage where the Kyuubi had once been imprisoned; it was now the elemental room. The gate was still closed, but many of the bars were missing, allowing the chakra to flow freely from within. From outside you could not see what was behind the gate. The gate itself was no longer rusted, but mage of gleaming gold. Where the tag that had read "SEAL" was, now the kanji for water, earth, and fire, are now written.

"Well that's new. Fire wasn't there last time." He steps through the gate, it was only there to keep it separate from the rest of his mind, but not to keep him out, or them in. inside the room the sky was lit up as it would be at sunset, painted with rosy hues of pink, red, orange, yellow, and blue. The mountain peaks were also painted while the sky was reflected in the waters below. In the sky sat a red sun, hanging low on the horizon. That had not been there before and was the cause of the color change. It was a wondrous sight.

In the sky a voice was heard, it was old, very old, yet it sounded young at the same time. It crackled like a flame, and held the warmth of one as well. "Young one. Come up and sit with me while I teach you the ways of the flame. I am one who was born at the beginning and only at the end will I be extinguished. I have chosen you to wield my flame, thus I will teach you all I know." The sun began to shrink and change form until a man of eighteen years stood before him. His cloths were black in places, but most of it shimmered like a fire dancing upon wood. His hair was red and reached to his neck, while his eyes held a warmth like none he would ever see. He stood atop the highest mountain and beckoned for him to join him.

Kit quickly ran up, this being inside his mind, he made it up in less than a minuet. The man beside him spoke. "My name is Kazan. I am the consciousness of flames. Follow me and I will teach you everything there is to know about fire and its techniques." He takes Kit to his palace where for the next three weeks. Because this was inside his den where he controls time, it was only two days on the outside.

When he emerged from the world of fire inside the elemental room, another tail had accepted him. The last would only come when he had full mastery of fire.

Today was the day that the Chuunin Exam would take place, and he was almost late for it. His teammates were waiting for him outside the Exam building. Ino and Choji yell; "YOUR LATE! And where have you been these last two days?"

Kit shrugs; "Well at least I'm here now aren't I? I've been training. Lets go before we really are late."

They rush to the Exam room, making it just on time. They all knew what to expect. But what they didn't expect was who the instructor was. They entered just as everyone was picking numbers for where they were to sit. Tsunade was standing at the front of the room. All of the Leaf nins present bowed murmuring "Hokage-sama" as they walked by. Only the last person didn't, that one said. "Hey Baa-chan! Where's our instructor?" before being punched through the wall. Of course this person was Kit. He had been told everything ahead of time.

They all took their seats as Tsunade passed out the tests. "I will be your examiner for the first part of the exam. For those of you who don't know, I am Tsunade, the fifth Hokage. Here are the rules for the Exam. There will be no fighting without the permission of the examiner. Even if permission is granted, killing your opponent is forbidden. If you disregard the rules you will be failed immediately. Have I made my self clear?"

Everyone in the room nodded, especially those from the Leaf, they knew what their Hokage was capable of, and it was scary.

"Now to start the first part of the test. You've all already been assigned seats, so take them. The first part of the Exam is the paper test I just handed you." Everyone moved to their seats. "Now on to the rules for the first test. Questions are not allowed, so listen well. The first rule: everyone will start off with ten points. The test has ten questions, worth one point each, this test uses a subtraction system. If you answer all ten questions correctly, you keep your ten points. If you miss three questions you will have seven points. The second rule: the combined scores of you and your teammates will determine whether you pass or not. The third and most important rule is this: anyone caught cheating will have two points subtracted for every offense. If you lose all of your points, you and your teammates will be asked to leave. If you cheat you will only be hurting yourselves. The Chuunins around the room will be watching you closely. As shinobi trying to reach the level of Chuunin, act as proud shinobi should. The final question will be handed out at the forty-five-minuet mark. The Exam will last one hour. Begin!"

All of the first year applicants first started to try to work the problems without cheating, but very few of them could they answer. Kit knew the real purpose of the test, but he knew the answers already. Being fused with an age-old demon definitely had its perks. He did not even bother to turn the test over; he had a jutsu that would write the answers for him, without even turning the paper over.

Kit raised his hand out level in front of himself, hand hovering over the test. His hand began to glow red. It was one of the combination jutsus that Kyuubi and the elements taught him. During his time in his mind the rest of his elements consciousnesses came to him and taught him as well. Kazan and the water element, Tsunami fought a bit before agreeing to help him. Kazan and Jishin had taught this jutsu to him, the earth element had taught him this. He whispered "Joukai no Shoseki no Jutsu." or Heaven's Book technique. It used fire to burn the answers into the paper, the paper being made of earth's twin wood, knew the answers and gave the fire a path to follow, creating the right solution. It could also be used to copy any text from anywhere.

Having finished within minuets of the exam starting he was becoming a little bored. He activated Onimetsuki to watch what the others were doing, while he pretended to sleep. Ino was using her Shintenshin on Sakura to get answers, he was pretty sure she would be giving them to Choji, and try to him. Sakura was one of the Chuunin monitoring the exam; he had to admit that she was pretty smart. Choji continued to eat from his never-ending bag of chips. There had to be some kind of jutsu on that bag, he had been eating from it for at least three days straight. Hinata and Neji were using Byakugan. Kit quickly re enforced his cloaking of his tails, the Byakugan had been known to break through low-level cloakings. Sasuke, Orochimaru, and Kabuto were all using their Henge; it was actually really strong, he would never suspected them if he hadn't smelled them before. They were acting as if they were having a hard time with the test. Seeing that most were doing well, he decided that now would be a nice time to take a short nap.

At the forty-five-minuet mark, only the leaf, sand, and grass ((Sound)) had all their teams left. One or two other teams were still there. Tsunade walked to the front of the room. "Okay! Now for the tenth question!" Naruto continued to sleep, he knew what was going on, he just didn't care. "Before we get to that… I'd like to explain the additional rules for this question. These are the rules of desperation. First you must decide whether or not you will take it."

One of the newer Genins asked; "Why should we choose, of course we'll take it! But what would happen if we chose not to?"

Tsunade smiled "If you choose not to, your points will be reduced to zero, so you will fail. Along with your teammates. Now for the other rule, if you choose to take it, but answer it incorrectly… That person will lose the right to take the Chuunin Exam ever again."

The Genin that had spoken earlier gulped at that. "What kind of stupid rule is that?"

Tsunade answered, "Those are the rules of desperation. Now you must choose. If you aren't confident you can choose not to take it, and try again next year."

All of the newer people, and ones that did not pass that level last year began to think of their options, while those who had kept quiet to see what would happen. Tsunade spoke up again, "Those who do not wish to take the question raise your hand now. Once you have been confirmed, leave."

The genin that had spoken up raised his hand. "Forget this! I'll take it again next year!" he got up and walked out the door with his teammates scowling at his back. After that several others raised their hands as well and left. In less than five minuets only half of those who had been present when the question had been given out were left.

When she was sure that no one else would leave she tried one more time, "I'll ask you one more time. Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit…" she waited a few moments, when no one else raised their hands she smiled, "Good decisions! Now to everyone remaining… the first test, I congratulate you on passing!"

One of the Genins from hidden rain jumped up. "What about the tenth question?"

Tsunade began to laugh. 'There never was such a thing. Or you could say that the two choices were the tenth question."

"Then what were the first nine questions for? They were pointless then!"

"They were not pointless. They had already served their intended purpose… to test your individual information gathering abilities. And based on haw many you got rite, it may make the next part of the exam easier. Now bring your papers up, and if your paper is blank, you will fail." She glared at Kit. "As I said, this was to test your information gathering abilities. So if your paper is blank, you either knew nothing, and or cant get info well."

The Genins lined up and gave her their tests. When Kit got to the front, Tsunade gaped at his paper. She had not seen him even look at the questions, yet they were all answered correctly. She had been watching him herself, and all she had seen was him sleeping. Kit smiled at her, "This is one of the things I learned while I was away." With that he went back to his seat.

When everyone had given her their papers she turned to them. "I congratulate everyone on passing. But this is no time to be celebrating. The end of the next test at most will leave only half of you. The next part will be held at practice area 44, otherwise known as the forest of death. Those of you who wish to proceed will meet there tomorrow at 8:00. I suggest you get some rest." Tsunade walked out the door, leaving some stunned and others bored.

Kit was the first to leave the room. Kazan, Tsunami, and Jishin had promised to teach him one jutsu each, that only a demon lord could do. He rushed to his den and quickly jumped through the gate.

Once again he entered the world of his mind. As he walked down the hall he noticed a door that he had never seen there before. This door was different from all the rest. It had thick chains crossing in front of it. Bars had been laid behind the chains. He moved to try and open it but found it locked and bolted. "Why cant I open this door?"

**There's a very good reason that you can't, Kit. Behind that door are your memories of what happened the day you were born. Sometime I will unlock it for you, but not now. The elements are waiting, you should hurry. **

Seeing the wisdom in that he ran to the elemental room. Upon entering he saw Kazan, Tsunami, and Jishin waiting for him. ((A.N: Kazan is volcano, Tsunami is tidal wave, and Jishin is earthquake for those who don't know)) "Sorry I'm late."

Tsunami replied, "Don't worry about it. Its not like time affects this plane anyway." Her voice was that of flowing water, soft and gentle, like it was a stream that was talking.

Jishin spoke next, "We know that Orochimaru is in the exam you are taking. You will need these skills that we are going to show you. They cannot be copied, even if you are not using Onimetsuki. It requires the user to have the highest level of demon blood flowing through his or her veins. Only the four demon lords are capable of them, of which you are Lord of the South. I will teach you mine first." His voice was deep and gravely. It sounded like it came from the earth itself. All of the element's voices were warm and kind when turned upon him, yet not so much when turned upon their opposite, as in Kazan and Tsunami. They were scary when they were together, which thankfully was not often.

"My skill is known as Doton, Oni Shuken Jutsu: Yomi Rifuto. Or Earth Element, Demon Lord Technique: Underworld Rift. The seals are Demon, Rabbit, Tiger, Dragon, Ram, Demon. Now go over to the field over there and try it, but whatever you do for all these skills, when you practice never put more than 1/25 of your chakra into it. You would just be practicing them, not trying to destroy Konoha. Then again if you ever decided to get revenge of them, these skills would be perfect if you used 1/3 your chakra in each of them, at the same time." The elements get an evil glint in their eyes.

They were pretty pissed off at Konoha for what they had done to Naruto/Kit. There were only three reasons that the village was still standing. One, Naruto/Kit was still there and wouldn't have liked it. Two, the Old Man, Third Hokage, had made a deal with them. And third was that they didn't want to steal Naruto/Kit's revenge from him if he did want it. He deserved it after all. Kazan had nearly pulled his support and name from the entire Fire Nation. They were that pissed.

Kit walked out onto the field and began practicing the seals. They were no particularly hard, so he began to try the jutsu. After thirty-seven failed attempts, Kit was becoming discouraged. Nothing had taken him this long to get a result. On the thirty-eighth try, he slammed his hands into the ground, causing a rift five yards across, twenty yards long and an unknown depth.

He stared down into the rift, to surprised to do anything else. He kicked a small pebble into the void, listening for the sound of it striking bottom. It never came. Kit turned back to Jishin, who was smiling broadly; "How deep is that?"

The simple reply was "To the core." Kit's jaw dropped. "You did very well. These are very high-power jutsus. So don't feel down if you don't get it right off. Tsunami will teach you hers next."

Tsunami stepped forward. "To start, we should go to the lake. It will make it easier for you to learn it."

When they reached the lake she started again. "My skill is called Suiton, Oni Shuken Jutsu: Mizubashira no Yomi, or Water element, Demon Lord technique: Waterspout of the Underworld. This jutsu depends upon two things. One, whether you are near water or not. If you are not, you must use your chakra to create it. And two, the size of the waterspout, do I have to explain more?" Naruto shook his head "Good, the seals are Demon, Bird, Dragon, Ram, Snake, Demon. See if you can get this one quicker than Jishin's." Tsunami stepped back, giving Kit plenty of room.

Kit walked out onto the water and did the seals. The water beneath him began to spin, but did not rise up. 'Must be using too little chakra.' He tried again, but the same thing happened, only the current was stronger. That's when he got it. He would have to lift the water into the air or use the water already existing in it, and then spin it. On his third try he nailed it. The water rose into the air while spinning. As it rose the spin became stronger until it was self-sustaining. Now all he had to do was use his chakra to move it.

Kit got a wicked gleam in his eye before moving it so that Jishin and Tsunami got wet. They had already taught him everything they knew, and it would be good for Kazan to get a laugh before he was taught the Fire jutsu.

Said element was rolling on the ground, roaring with laughter. "That was a good one! Use her own jutsu against her!" he continued to laugh until a very annoyed, very wet, Tsunami punched him in the head. He quickly calmed down. "Umm, well I guess it's my turn. It is like most other fire jutsus. Perform the seals, take a deep breath, and release. This jutsu is most like the Karyu Endan, in that it takes a particular shape. That's where the similarities end. It takes the shape of a fox head, and is much stronger than any other Katon technique."

"What's its name?"

"Oh, sorry. Its called Katon, Oni Shuken Jutsu: Kyuubi no Faiagekido. Fire element, Demon Lord technique: Kyuubi's Fire Rage/Infreno, whichever you prefer. The seals are Demon, Dragon, Tiger, Bird, Fox, Demon. Try to beat tsunami's with this one."

Kit stood at the edge of the lake, facing out over it. He did the seals while taking a deep breath. "Katon! Oni Shuken Jutsu: Kyuubi Faiagekido!" a large fox shaped flame shot from his mouth. As it passed over the lake, the water started to boil and evaporate. When he finished, the water returned, but was still very hot.

Kazan was teasing Tsunami that Kit had gotten the fire technique quicker than he had the water. Kit was just surprised that he had gotten it on his first try.

After a few minuets the elements walked up behind him. "We have taught you everything we know. Eventually we may let you take over our jobs, but that won't be for a very long time. Now take what we have taught you and use it as you see fit. Hurry now, the next part of the exam is in three hours."

With that he left the world of his mind, emerging in his den. The landscape in his mind immediately repaired itself when he left. Kit sat in his den; he would have to up his limiter before he left. Taking off his fingerless glove he examined the seal of his right hand. The nine points of the star were glowing with different colors, while in the middle the kanji for the percent of his total power that he could use shimmered slightly. While in his den he had a limit of 50, but because of the new skills he learned he would have to take it down to 25. He dreaded to think how much he would have to limit himself after the ninth tail accepted him. The seal not only limited his power, but also made his technique that much weaker. Now all of his skills would be at only 25 of their original strength, but that was still pretty strong, considering who he was.

He sighed as he put the glove back on; he only wore it on his right hand. He would have to hurry if he were to make it to Area 44 in time.

He dashed out of him home and ran as fast as he could ((Limiter also affected his speed)) toward the next part of the test.

He was the last to arrive at the second part of the exam. Anko had just finished explaining the objective of the test. Kit had heard it before so he didn't mind. He and his team signed the wavers, and then went to their gate. Their plan was to head to the tower first, then attack any who came near until they got the second scroll. It would take two days to reach the tower at their speed, but that suited Kit just fine.

The bell rang, opening the gates and his team dashed off into the forest of death, which would most certainly live up to its name.

A.N: Thanks to PhiloWorm for beta and the demon lord jutsus.

Next chapter: Kit faces off against Orochimaru and Sasuke. What happens when the fusion completes? And what's through the sealed door in his mind? Find out next chapter.


	7. the second seal: time

Disclaimer: For the last time! I Don't Own Naruto!

A.N: for those who were wondering about the elements, they are omnipresent. Where ever that element is, so are they. They are kind of like low-level Kami's. And since Naruto is an incarnate of those elements, they are also in/with him.

And before you read this, just know that I hate writing completely new fight scenes.

And it seems that I made a mistake concerning the number of tenketsus in a human body. There are 251 tenketsus in a normal human; therefore Naruto has 502. -Thanks Dual Rasengan ((BTW not many people know that.))

**The Second Seal: Time**

Nothing happened on the first day. All the team of four did was run, run, and run some more. At the end of the day, the only one not tired was Kit. The rest were puzzled by this, but were quickly falling asleep, so they didn't ask. As they sank to the ground, Kit offered to take watch.

As he watched his team sleep, he felt the need to spill blood. This was the first time that this had happened. 'It must be because of the snake bastards.' Making sure that his entire team was asleep he created a bunshin. Leaving it in his place he leapt off into the forest, shedding his human form as he went. His hair became blood red, his ears became as the foxes. He revealed his nine tails and slitted cerulean eyes. He extended his claws, making them sharp and hard. He was ready. Now all he had to do was find the snake and the bastard.

A rustling sound was heard off to the right. The demon lord sniffed the air. 'Oh what luck! They are here already.' He snickers, drawing their attention. "So did you figure it out yet teme? Or did you Snake-sennin?"

Sasuke spoke; "Show your self, Naruto! You are the only person to ever call me that and live! And remove that stupid henge, you aren't scaring any one."

Kit stepped out into the clearing, quickly changing to human ((Naruto)) form. He begins laughing, "So you figured it out. Surprised to see me? You thought you'd never see me again didn't you?"

Both Sasuke and Orochimaru spoke at the same time "So it is true."

Sasuke seemed puzzled, "How did you survive? That move should have killed you."

At that Kit quit laughing, "But it did. Let me show you my other side. The reason why the fourth died, and I was shunned." The boy sinks down onto all fours, growing fur, becoming the Kyuubi; the only difference was that in this form he had golden fur, not red. His eyes stayed blue, but lost their henge, changing to slitted.

Orochimaru and Sasuke gasp. The kitsune steps forward; "This is my other side, the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Nine-Tailed Demon Lord of the South. As I became her kit, she merged with me after our fight. Now I am what she used to be and more."

He changed back into Hanyou form and clapped his hands together. They began to glow blue before he slammed them into the ground crying "Alchemic Bindings!" A small array formed beneath the pair, trapping their legs.

To say that they were surprised was an understatement. No ninja had ever even heard of alchemy, let alone see it. They had no idea what the boy had just done, and he had not used chakra. ((I don't know what alchemy uses, besides equivalent exchange. If anyone knows, please tell me.)) Orochimaru was the first to speak. "What was that?" both sound nins easily break out of the bindings, Naruto hadn't meant them to be anything but a distraction.

"That, my dearly hated enemy, is alchemy. And no Orochimaru, you will never learn to use it. Tonight both of you die!"

Sasuke threw a kunai at him, but was surprised when he caught it. The dobe caught it! He couldn't believe it. The dead last had improved; it was time to see just how much. He activated the level 2 curse seal and charged, clipping Kit. "You say that we would die tonight? I believe you are mistaken, tonight I will finish what I started years ago." He threw several shuriken at Kit who either dodged or caught them all.

"Well then. I will tell you my new name. It is Kit, Sennin of the Hidden Shadow. That reminds me, your brother really it a nice person."

Sasuke tackled him; "You met my brother? Where?"

Kit began laughing, "He isn't the one you should be looking for. It was Orochimaru who killed your family. He made it look like Itachi."

"You lie! Orochimaru-sama would never do such a thing!" he began to strangle Kit, but it burst in a puff of smoke. "Bunshin? You have indeed gotten better." He activates his sharingan. "Sharingan!"

"Onimetsuki!" His eyes become blood red. Kit holds out both hands, in one a red flame appears, in the other a black rock. Sasuke charges Kit, trying to stop him from whatever he was doing. Just before he got to him, Kit slammed his hands together. The flame caught the rock on fire…**BOOM**

A shockwave from the blast shook the forest, awakening all of the Chuunin hopefuls. Ino jumped up. "We should see what that was. Did you see anything Kit?" She looks over to see the boy sleeping. "Wake up idiot!" she punches him in the head. The clone burst into smoke. "Kit? Where are you?" 'Oh God, I hope he wasn't in that blast.' "Hey everyone! Wake up! Kit disappeared and there's a major fight going on somewhere!"

The others sat up straight up at the words: Kit, Missing, and Fight. Ino yells "We have to find him. If we don't we fail the exam! I don't want to be a genin for another year!" she runs off into the forest, hearing towards the sound of battle. The others following after.

Elsewhere, Gaara of the Sand was sitting up in a tree. Not sleeping as usual. He had felt the explosion and was slightly worried about it. The energy he felt was slightly familiar, but it was mixed up with something else. Shukaku was restless; the shockwave seemed to have the same effect on the demon. Looking down he saw Team 7 run underneath his tree, but there was no Kit. If he remembered correctly, Team 10 had three people, Kit, Ino, and Choji. Of course he didn't remember their names. His thoughts were more along the lines of Kit, yellow hair, and fat kid. They seemed to be in a rush and just as worried as him, so he decided to follow them.

When they reached the source of the explosion they saw two people fighting, and one person standing on the sidelines. One had long blood red hair, fox ears and nine tails. He was fighting someone from the grass. Inside Gaara's head Shukaku was yelling something about the Demon Lord of the South being free again. When Gaara questioned the demon he got only one word. "Naruto?"

The pink haired kunoichi ((Is that how you spell it? I couldn't find it on my info site)) turned to Gaara; "What do you mean? Neither of them is Naruto, he died a while ago."

The red haired vessel gives Sakura a glare. "Shukaku says that the Nine Tails Demon Lord is free. He also said that it had been imprisoned in Naruto. But he also says that he is different. The chakra has increased and changed colour. That IS Naruto."

"I thought that the Kyuubi was killed by the fourth?"

Ino gives her a look; "Apparently not. That explains all the looks the villagers gave him, and why he lives alone. Why did we not see it before!"

Back in the fight, Kit clapped his hands together and pushed them towards the ground. A sword began to rise. It was the same size as Zabuza's old sword. The core of the blade was a bluish-green with brown designs crossing it while the edge was red. The swords colours represented Kit's elements, just like the incomplete merger gauge. Sasuke also pulled out a sword; it was Orochimaru's Kusanagi. They were about to clash when Gaara sent in his sand to stop them.

Kit's tails twitched in agitation. "What did you do that for!"

"Its simple. Now is not the time for this. And I believe you have some questions to answer, Naruto."

Kit stopped trying to break out of the sand at the sound of his birth name. "So you figured it out to huh?"

Just at that moment Orochimaru jumps to Sasuke's side. "This isn't over yet. We will meet you in the finals. There you will perish." Both snakes disappear in a puff of smoke.

Gaara releases his sand and walks over to Kit, who had just returned to his human form, once again hiding his tails. "Who was that?"

"Some one I really want to kill, and that's all you need to know about them." Changing the subject. 'How did you know that was me?"

Ino answered that. "Gaara said that Shukaku said that it was you. He also said that the Kyuubi is sealed inside you. Is that true? And how are you still alive?" she really hoped that the Kyuubi was a lie.

Kit gave a glance at Gaara; "So you've begun to talk to each other have you. Good. He may let you sleep now." Turning to Ino, and in a quite voice. "Yes, that was true."

Ino looks at the ground, "Oh… I'm sorry. Wait! You said was. What about now?"

Kit gives her a big grin. "Now I'm Kyuubi." Seeing the group's shock and fear he says, "Don't worry. Kyuubi attacked only because Konoha killed her family. She's not a threat any more, and I never was. If I had wanted to kill you I would already have done it."

Ino looks over at Choji; "That makes sense. I would have wanted revenge if someone killed my family." she looked back to Kit "What should we call you now? Kyuubi, Naruto, Kit, or something else?"

"Doesn't matter. Here's something I picked up while I was on watch." He pulls out two scrolls, one heaven and one earth. "We can go to the tower now. I will answer the rest of your questions there."

Later, inside the tower, after Team 7 had used their scrolls and summoned the teacher, everyone that knew Kit or Naruto surrounded him. They all wanted to know what was going on. Kit sighed before starting. "Yes, I am Naruto, or was. Now I am the Kyuubi, but I prefer to be called Kit. As to how I am still alive, after Sasuke had 'killed' me, Kyuubi gave me her power and made me Kyuubi, keeping both of us alive. Since then I have been travelling around several REAL hidden villages. And no I wont tell you about them. It's forbidden. Anything else?"

Neji popped up; "Did you learn any seal removal jutsus?" the hope of finally getting rid of his "Caged Bird Seal" was making him more social than he would usually be.

Kit smiled; "Yep! But it will take a while to set up. I'll do it after the Finals or the Preliminaries, depending on how many finish this part."

Ino spoke next; "Who were you fighting?"

"Not teeeellllllliiinnnngggg… you'll find out when we fight next."

Neji gave him a look; "So you know." It was a statement, not a question.

"Of course I do. And who knows, you may even know him as well."

Just then Tsunade burst through the door. "Good, you're all here. The second part of the exam is here by over." She summoned a few ANBU to her side; "Go retrieve any still out in the forest that are still alive." She turned back to those present. "Let's see… Leaf, Grass, and Sand. That's all? Well then it seems that there wont be a preliminary round this time. Please follow me and we will start with the Finals. You know the drill. Anyone who does not wish to proceed may quit now; it wont hurt your team. The finals will be a one on one match with no rules. Defeat your opponent and proceed to the next round. Even if you don't make it to the final round you may still pass. All of you may become Chuunin, but then again, maybe none of you will. So, whose quitting now?" she looked around at those assembled. "No one? Well then, lets get this started. First round: Kit Bikyuu Vs. Utaki Sora! Will those two please step forward, the rest of you stand on the balcony until it's your turn. And remember, these matches will be broadcasted to every hidden village. So do your best."

As the others walked up the stairs as Kit faced Sora. "So that's what you're calling yourself these days teme." ((For those of you who haven't guessed, it's Sasuke))

"Shut it Dobe."

Tsunade stepped between them; "Begin!" she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The battle started slow enough, a few thrown shuriken and kunai. The two faced off using nothing but taijutsu and their tools. Here they were about even, it seemed that the snake's training had done the bastard some good. On the other side, Sasuke was fuming; 'How did the dobe get this good? Last time should have killed him. Come to think of it, how did he survive?'

Sasuke decided that now was as good a time as any to ask his question. "How did… you survive our last battle… dobe?" he said as he threw several more punches.

His opponent just laughed. "Oh, yes. How did I survive? It was quite simple, and I must thank you for it. It is a bloodline that awakens during near death experiences. And because you killed me, well, it is now permanently active." The kitsune laughed again.

Sasuke was not happy. Not only was Naruto laughing at him, but Sasuke had unwittingly helped him activate an unknown bloodline. "Lets see if it rivals mine!" he growled activating his sharingan, even though it was hidden behind his genjutsu.

"Oh hohoho… you're going to use THAT are you? Well then, I'll just have to use mine now won't I?" he placed his hands in the demon seal and gathered his youki, closing his eyes. "Demon Form: Onimetsuki! Second Level!" the ground began to rumble as the demonic energy began to swirl around Naruto.

He snapped his eyes open revealing nine lines connecting the outside of his iris to his pupil. The lines were blood red, contrasting greatly to the ice blue of his normal eyes. A golden pentagram surrounded the iris as well, the lines just brushing the sides. The pentagram began to spin as he added more chakra to his eyes.

"Lets get this started shall we? I'm done warming up."

Sasuke nodded and the two opponents charged each other. The following battle was so fast that very few could actually see what was happening. Several different colour streaks and explosions were scattered across the arena as the two battled it out. Those that could see what was happening were shocked. High-level jutsus were being tossed out and taken as if they were nothing. And those that could sense the power level being used by the combatants was even more shocked when they realised that a Sennin level battle was taking place in the chuunin exam.

Kakashi sweat dropped; 'They are at Sennin level in strenght? I'm surprised that both of them haven't started countries of their own.' He was using his sharingan eye and saw that it was Sasuke that Naruto was fighting. He would leave the capture to Tsunade and Jiraiya after the battle was finished. He was sure that they knew.

Suddenly the two were forced apart as Sasuke's teammate ((Orochimaru)) hurled a sword in-between them. "Use this! Make sure you don't loose!" he shouted.

Sasuke ran forward and grabbed Tsunagi (SP) before rushing Naruto, intending on ending the boy's life once and for all.

Naruto smirked; "A sword duel it is then!" he clapped his hands together and slammed them into the ground, a blue light spreading from his palms. His sword rose from the earth as he drew his palms from the ground. "Meet my little friend, Yonyousoken."

'How is that little?' thought Sasuke as he stared at the intricately crafted sword. It was five feet long and nine inches wide. It had the kanji for Fire, Wood, Earth, and Water inscribed on both sides of the blade in red, green, brown, and blue. At the base of the blade was a four-coloured gem.

The battle progressed from there with the exception that in combination with the various jutsu being used, the clash of steel meeting steel could be heard along with yellow sparks flying when they locked blades. Each side tried every trick they knew to defeat the other but to no avail, they were too evenly matched. The match would have to be decided through summons decided Sasuke. He already knew that Naruto could summon frogs, and he could summon snakes. Time to see which was stronger.

"Kyuichose no Jutsu!" there was a gigantic puff of smoke. When it cleared Sasuke was standing on the head of the Snake boss.

**Eh? What am I doing here? Hey brat! What's the idea of bringing me here? **The giant snake looked around. **Its you! **The snake roared.

Kit didn't give him time as he called out; "Kyuichose no Jutsu: Special: Second in Command: Akahirameki" Kit threw one arm to the side as the summon appeared beside him.

**What ya want boss? **The kitsune said as he bowed to Kit.

Flashback

Kit was sitting in his den, talking about some of his new powers. Even he did not know them all, Kyuubi was several hundred thousand years old after all. One of his questions was whether he could still summon Gamabunta or not. Kyuubi said probably not, but did that ever stop him. So off he want and attempted a summon.

It worked, but not like he expected. Instead of one animal, he got two. A fox and a frog. They both jumped at him.

The frog; "Nii-san!" it was Gamakichi

"Kyuubi-sama!" yelled the fox kit.

The frog was sitting on his left shoulder while the fox took the left. They glared at each other across their summoner's head. Naruto was confused. Sure he had fused with Kyuubi, but he had never signed a contract with the foxes. Was there even a contract for foxes? Or was there something Kyuubi wasn't telling him?

**Oh, I forgot to tell you. You are now the leader of all kitsune, normal and summon. And i destroyed the last contract, so you'll have to make a new one sometime. Untill then you don't have to worry about anyone summoning you. Well, have fun!** Kyuubi retreated to the back of his mind, chuckling quietly.

'Baka kitsune.'

End Flashback

"I need you to make a shield, make sure that none of them," he pointed at the stands, "get hurt." The fox nodded

Back in the stands everyone was surprised. The battle had just gone up another notch. Summons. Not only that, but one of the summons had called its summoner their boss. Was he really their boss or was it just the term for the sumoner?

Sasuke sneered at Naruto; "Are you really so weak that you can't even summon their boss?"

The snake below him muttered something about trying not to anger the other but it was ignored as Sasuke continued; "Heh, you will never beat me. Once a dead last, always a dead last."

Naruto was beginning to get annoyed and yelled; "There's a reason that I didn't summon the boss. Or I should say can't, as you'll soon find out!" he began doing seals at a pace that even the Sharingan couldn't follow, not to mention that there were seals involved that a human could not use.

"Demon Jutsu: Transformation! Full Demon Form!" he yelled as he sank down on all fours. The popping of bones could be heard across the stadium as his body lost its human shape. He began to grow reddish-orange fur as nine tails shot from his tailbone. Last he increased in size until he was slightly larger than the snake boss.

**I am the Boss. And hello again Orochi, ya miss me?**

The snake lunged at Kit, intent on revenge. A while ago the two had gotten in a fight over something small. Neither of them could remember what it was over. But in the end, Kit won, and Orochi had left, missing part of his tail. It had taken him months to re-grow it.

Kit dodged, getting a slight nick on his right flank. **Ah ah ahhhh. You know better than that, Orochi-kuuuuuunnn. **Kit whirled and hit Orochi's tail.

The snake smirked. **Right where I want you. Snake Jutsu: Forced Ningen Form! **He said as he bit Kit, who couldn't move because Orochi had wrapped his tail around the Kitsune.

Kit had been forced back into his human form and Orochi began to crush him, while Sasuke was laughing, still standing on the Snake's head. "I WILL have the power to defeat my brother!"

The crowd gasped. Those who did not know before had just came to the conclusion of the boy's real identity. Others where just surprised that he had let it slip. Orochimaru just covered his face as a large sweat drop appeared on the back of his head. "Baka."

Kit struggled to get out from under the snake's coils. He tried everything that he could, but none of it worked. 'Wait! I still have those!' he then formed his one time favourite seal; "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" two clones poofed in next to him. They began to push on the snake just enough to let Kit scramble out from under it, though it took some contortions that should not have been possible, even for a demon.

As soon as he was out, he and his clones took up positions opposite each other. There were three Kit's so it was they were a little off from that, they were equal distance form each other.

Sasuke sneered once again; "What do you think two bunshins can do against me?"

Kit smirked; "This." Both he and his clones began the seals that would change ((Or end)) history forever.

Then all at once they called out;

"Doton, Oni Shuken Jutsu: Yomi Rifuto!"

"Suiton, Oni Shuken Jutsu: Mizubashira no Yomi!"

"Katon, Oni Shuken Jutsu: Kyuubi no Faiagekido!"

For a second nothing happened. Sasuke smirked. Then he was gone. He had ceased to be.

And that was when all hell broke loose.

From nowhere giant waves crashed through Konoha, the sky turned crimson as fire fell like rain. The earth cracked and split to its core. Ad at the place where all three met, a darkening rift began to form and the elements began to merge together, feeding on each other's energy, becoming self-sustaining. Fire and water raged against each other across the earth. All life was instantly vaporized as the fire rained down; the water from the sea rose up and covered the land as the land split open to swallow it all. A geyser of steam rose from the gaping hole in the earth as the waters of the world came in contact with the molten core of the world. The molten rock began to solidify, freezing the lifeblood of the planet. And in the darkness, nothing was left. Nothing at all.

Just before all that happened Orochimaru, knowing what was going to happen, decided that he would have his own revenge. He would not allow the kitsune peace in death, no, the kit would be tortured for the rest of time, however long that was. Or so he thought. "Shiki Fuujin no Jutsu!"

The god of death, the shinigami, fazed in behind the Snake Sennin before plunging its hand through the snake's soul. Kit was frozen in fear. He knew what this jutsu was capable of. The hand of death touched him… and stopped. And death spoke. "The rules have been violated. This one cannot be sealed again. Once sealed, one can never be sealed again. And this one will not be sealed. I owe this one a debt for the release of my son." Death withdrew its hand from the snake's soul and disappeared, reappearing behind Kit. "Come with me." He grabbed Kit and pulled him into his own dimension.

As the world ended outside.

Kit found himself in a world of darkness. Behind him came a voice. "As I said before. I owe you a debt for the release of my son. It was your chakra that freed him. Therefore you shall not die now. In fact, no one has to. Time. That is my other name. I shall send you back in time. When you will appear I do not know, that it up to fate. But you will still know everything that you do now and retain all of your powers and strength, along with a gift from me. Let me see that sword." He grasped the Sanyousoken. "A fine blade. And to it I shall add some power. Under me I have lesser shinigami. Each one of them wields a sword called a Soul Slayer." At the shocked and horrified look on Kit's face he continued. "Don't worry. It doesn't really kill the souls, but it can hurt them. It allows them to fight the evil souls of the dead, the ones that have been consumed by darkness, and purify them. They are able to send the good souls who have not gone to rest to heaven. The evil ones will be sent to hell." Kit nodded. that sounded Ok.

Death smiled. "You understand. That's good. Because the reward for freeing my son is that you will become an Elite Shinigami, my left hand, as my son is my right." He ran his hand along the edge of the sword leaving a silvery edge to it. "Here is your new and improved sword. I give you the Three Elements Soul Slayer: Judgement!" Death gave him a smile, but it was actually the scariest thing that Kit had ever seen. the Smile of Death was enough to kill most people with fright. Kit shuddered. "Well, its time to go!" The Head Shinigami opened up another portal and shoved Kit through it, giving one last comment; "Have fun!"

When he was gone Death sat down in one of his many Lazy Boy recliners. "Have fun indeed. I wish him the best of luck. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to send him back. Oh well. What's done is done. We'll just have to see what happens."

Time Warp ((Before Kit Appears))

Naruto and Team 7 were currently chasing after Madam Shijimi's cat. Again!

'Damn it! How many times can one cat run away?' thought Naruto who had just tripped over a tree root. 'This is the third time this week! Though I can't blame the poor thing. I'd run away too if that fat lady tried to strangle me with her hugs of death. I guess I can thank the damn fox for that at least.'

Suddenly from another part of the forest an annoying scream pierced the quiet; "Sasuke-kun! You're the best!" It seemed the bastard had caught the cat before him. "Stupid Uchiha." mumbled Naruto.

Ten minutes later found Team 7 gathered around the rendezvous ((SP)) point. Naruto glaring at Sasuke, Sakura fawning over him, and Sasuke ignoring it all.

There was a poof of smoke and a familiar; "Yo!" as Kakashi appeared before them. he ignored the usual "You're Late!" from his subordinates as he proceeded to lead them back to the Hokage tower.

Everyone present winced as Madam Shijimi hugged her cat. The Sandaime sighed; 'There should be some kind of animal cruelty law being infringed upon her, but it's the Daimyo's wife. It wouldn't be good to anger him.' He sighed again as he began looking for another mission for the rookie genin team.

"Ok, Kakashi's Team 7, your next mission is to... baby-sit an elder's grandson, shopping in the neighbouring village, and helping dig up potatoes."

Naruto's face fell at each new mission, until finally, he burst; "NO NO NO NO! No thank you! I want a more exciting mission. Find us a better one!"

Sasuke glared at him, but was inwardly agreeing with him. Sakura was thinking about how annoying Naruto was, and Kakashi, well, he should have seen this coming.

Iruka, who was assisting the Hokage that day, jumped up and started yelling at him, using his infamous "Demon Head no Jutsu." "You idiot! You're just a rookie! Everyone starts off like this and works their way up!"

Naruto started yelling back; "But all we're getting are the crappiest missions possible."

Kakashi hit him over the head with a quick; "Shut up."

Sandaime sighed; "Naruto, it seems I have to explain to you what these duties are all about. Everyday the village receives numerous requests, from babysitting to assassination. Each request is written down in these lists..." he said indicating the papers scattered across his desk, "and then divided into an A,B,C,D ranking based on difficulty. the missions are handed out to ninjas based on their rank and abilities. if completed successfully we receive payment from the client. You guys just became shinobi, so D-rank missions are perfect for you."

Naruto was sitting facing away from the Hokage, talking to himself; "Last night I had pork ramen, so miso sounds good for..."

"HEY! LISTEN!" Sandaime yelled.

Kakashi hit Naruto over the head again while muttering a quick apology to the Hokage.

"Ya know... I'm not the trouble making brat you still think I am!" Naruto hmphed.

Sarutobi smiled; "OK then... if you want it that much..." Sakura and Kakashi gasped. "I'll give you a C-Rank mission. You are to protect a certain person."

"Who? Who? A Fuedal Lord? A Princess! Come on! Tell us!" yelled Naruto.

"Calm down, I'm about to introduce him. Hey! Will you come in here?" Sarutobi yelled at the door.

The door opened and in walked an old man, a little taller than Naruto, with a bottle of booze in his hand. "What's this?" the old man asked. "There just a bunch of super brats." He leaned against the wall. "Especially the shortest one with the super stupid-looking face. Are you really ninja? Hey!"

Naruto looked to both sides before jumping at the old man; "Who you calling microscopic! I'll kill you!"

Kakashi grabbed hold of the orange clad ninja before he could do any damage. "What's the point of killing the person were supposed to protect? Baka."

The old man began to introduce himself; "I am the super expert bridge builder Tazuna. I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge." he said with an un interested look.

Kakashi, sensing their clients impending doom, stood before his students; "Meet me at Konoha's north gate in one hour. Don't be late. Dismissed!" he disappeared, ignoring the looks the three genin gave him.

An hour later, Team 7 were all at the gate, even Kakashi. ((Its the end of the world! wait, that already happened…. never mind)) "Let's go!" yelled Naruto.

'Can't he ever be quiet?' thought Sasuke and Sakura.

"What are you so excited about?" asked Sakura.

"It's the first time I've ever been outside the village."

Tazuna glanced at Kakashi; "Hey! Am I really going to be safe with this brat?"

Kakashi smiled, though you couldn't see it, inwardly he sighed; 'I'll have to work on that sometime.' "Hehe... Don't worry. I'm a jounin."

Behind him, Naruto glared at them; 'I should have killed the old man when I had the chance.' "Hey, Old man! Don't mess with Ninjas! I'm incredible! One day I'll be Hokage! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Remember it!"

"The Hokage is the village's number one ninja, right? I doubt someone like you could make it..." he took another swig from his bottle.

"Shut Up! I'm prepared to do anything to become Hokage! Once I become Hokage you will acknowledge me!" screamed Naruto in Tazuna's face.

"No I won't, brat. Even if you did become Hokage."

That blew it for Naruto; "I'll kill you!" he lunged at the bridge builder.

Kakashi caught him once more. "I said stop it moron."

They continued, seemingly oblivious to the person or people watching them.

"Hey Tazuna," called Saukra, "what is it like in Wave country?" Tazuna ignored her. She turned to Kakashi; "Sensei, do they have ninja in that country too?"

Kakashi shook his head; "No, they don't. But they do in most other countries. Don't worry, there wont be any ninja combat on a C-rank mission." He noticed Tazuna look away at that. 'Seems Sasuke noticed him too.' He looked down as they passed a puddle in the road. 'This will be a good experience for them. Let's see how they react.'

The group continued on, while behind them, two shinobi rose from the seemingly harmless pool of water. The two ran up behind Kakashi; the chains connecting them wrapped around the jounin. "One down." they pulled on the chains.

His team turned around just in time to see their sensei ripped apart by the chain connecting the two unknown ninja.

Sakura screamed; "Ka-Kakashi Sensei!"

Naruto and Sasuke froze. Sasuke from not knowing what to do. Naruto froze, not from fear or not knowing what to do, but because he felt something tugging at him. Tugging at his seal, at his soul, and at his ((And Kyuubi's)) chakra.

The two shinobi appeared behind Naruto; "Two down." they were about to do the same to him, when the ground below Naruto turned into a black pit. They jumped back, just in time to avoid falling in.

Naruto, however, did not fall in. He was floating above the pit with a spaced out look on his face. Suddenly a pillar of white, red, purple, and blue light shot from the pit and enveloped the boy.

The two ninja were attempting to ignore this, heading straight for Sasuke, who was staring at the pillar of light.

They would have had him too, if it had not been for Kakashi who jumped out from the trees and knocked the two away. He to, was watching the pillar.

The light suddenly stopped, and Naruto fell to the ground. When he hit, a sound like shattering glass filled the area. He lay on the ground facing up, his shirt nowhere to be seen. On his stomach was a cracked seal. It pulsed once before exploding, sending the pieces across his body where they disappeared. On his right bicep was a tattoo. Nine tails spiralling out from the centre. Three blue tails, three brown tails, two red tails, and one tail that was rapidly filling with red.

Kakashi looked on with dread. The seal that just exploded was the one that held Kyuubi. He hoped that he wouldn't have to kill one of the students on the first team that he had ever passed. But he would if he had to.

Naruto doubled up and started shaking, or was that the ground around him. He stopped. Just like that.

There was a flash of red light around the boy, and he was no longer standing there. But a four foot tall Kyuubi was.

Kakashi rushed forward to attack it before it could get its bearings, but was stopped when a five foot long sword thudded into the ground right in front of him. And slowly starting sinking into it.

Kyuubi opened his eyes and looked around, his eyes lingering on each one of Team 7 for a moment before moving on. When he came to the two downed shinobi, everyone on Team 7 was shocked to see its eyes widen and a foxy grin appear on its face. A deep grown came from his mouth as he chuckled, making the shinobi present almost wet themselves; **"So this is where he sent me. Just perfect." **It glared at the two; **"Hello, Demon Brothers. Here to assassinate a poor bridge builder are we? I'm sorry but I can't allow that."** a tail whipped out from behind him to wrap around the twins.

Kakashi moved to stop him, but thought better of it; "Na- err... Kyuubi, please don't kill them, let us take them back to Konoha for interrogation. Please."

Kyuubi grinned at him; **"I had no intention of killing them. Just making sure they can't get away." **he said as he retracted his tails. **"There all yours now. Later." **the kitsune dashed off into the forest surrounding them.

The shock of seeing the fox finally wore off on the two remaining genin. "Kakashi you're alive!" yelled Sakura.

Sasuke Hn-ed before glaring at him; "That was Kyuubi wasn't it. What was he doing here, wasn't he supposed to be dead?"

Kakashi sighed; "The only one that would know anything about it isn't here anymore." he indicated the spot where Naruto had fallen, "Him or the Hokage. I can't say anything other than that."

Just then a loud crashing was heard coming from the direction opposite that the Kyuubi left. And out from the underbrush popped a scratched up Naruto. He was still missing his shirt, giving all present a good view of his well toned muscles. He groaned; "What happened?"

Kakashi gave him a glare, to which he responded with a knowing smile. Sasuke just muttered; "Dobe." and turning the other way, while Sakura proceeded to beat him up, not noticing that she wasn't landing any hits.

"Where were you?" she screeched, "We were attacked by ninjas and the Kyuubi showed up, and all you have to say is what happened?"

Naruto dodged behind Kakashi muttering apologies.

When everyone settled down, Kakashi gave Naruto a stern look; "You and I need to talk."

Naruto nodded; "Later."

Kakashi went to go talk to Tazuna. "Those were Hidden Mist chuunins." he turned to them; "You should know better than to hide in a puddle when it hasn't rained for days." back to Tazuna. "What were they after you for? This mission is at least B-rank now. It was supposed to be a simple protection until you completed the bridge." Tazuna looked down. "You probably had your reasons, but it causes problems when you lie about the mission. We're now outside of our duties."

Naruto snuck up behind Kakashi; "Don't even think of ending the mission right now. If you do, I'll go on without you." he smirked at him and whispered in his ear; "You know you can't stop me."

Kakashi shivered. "But what about you Naruto? We have to fix your _problem_."

Naruto snickered; "What problem? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Ok then. Fine, we continue."

Sakura pouted, she didn't want to go on. If they ran into anyone else they would be done for. And what if the Kyuubi came back? Wait, didn't Kakashi say that Naruto knew something about it?

Sasuke smirked. This was perfect. He would get more chances to strengthen him self. He would defeat that man. But what about Kyuubi? Not even Itachi could go up against that thing. Didn't Naruto know something about it?

"Hey, Naruto!" came two voices at the same time.

Naruto turned to them after finishing a jutsu that replaced his cloths. He was now wearing black pants and a dark green shirt. Over them he wore the cloak that he had gotten from the alchemists. "Yeah?"

Sasuke beat Sakura this time, slowly approaching Naruto; "What do you know about Kyuubi?"

A.N: that's it for this chapter. check back next time for the rest of the wave mission. it should be interesting, Naruto having mastery of Suiton as well as the Onimetsuki. When will he figure out that his Nine-tails seal is complete? Find out next chapter in Henzuru!

Oh and this is for those of you that didn't understand the whole Shiki Fuujin scene.

**The rules of the Shiki Fuujin:**

Rule One: the jutsu must be used on a demon, or incarnate of evil

Rule Two: the chakra given must be equal to that of the sealed being's power

Rule Three: if it is not possible, your life and soul will be forfeit

Rule Four: if your life is taken by death, he will assign you your fate

Rule Five: Demon Lords will not be killed

Rule Six: To seal a Demon Lord, your life and soul will be forfeit

Rule Seven: The Demon Lord must be placed in a container

Rule Eight: The container must be a newborn child from the user's family

Rule Nine: Nothing, human or demon, can be sealed twice. An alternate fate will become of the container. If it has merged the same rule applies, it has already been sealed before.

From PhiloWorm:

FIC SLAYR: I made the demon jutsus have some sort of weaknes on purpose because I belive that nothing can be all powerful and use non-escapable attacks that way. As you can see all the demon jutsus have their own weak points and is avoidable to some degree. But first of all you must remeber that Kit only put 1/25 of his chackra in the attacks, the full power version is MUCH more dangerus and powerful. The weakness of the demon jutsus will also be explained soon if i have it my way so just be patient.

GOZEN V: If you reread the earlier chapters you will see that Naruto always have had nine tails, it's his fusion seal that lacks the last "tail" due to his lack of mastery over the fire element. And if you want Naruto on 100 power this chapter will be perfect for you. I must say taht it's not realy my place to comment on the lack of suspense and humor in this fic but I'll talk it over with Taggerung and we'll see if improvments can be made.


	8. Wave Mission Start

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own it.

A.N: For those of you who have questions about Kyuubi teaching Naruto new jutsus, they're not really new. Think of his memory like a library. Kyuubi is the librarian, so she knows where everything is. Naruto is now kind of like a new librarian. If he wants to know something he has to look for it, or ask Kyuubi where it is. Kyuubi can also create new jutsu. That should clear some things up.

Oh, and beware of random randomness. Oh, and did I mention that Naruto has 722 Tenketsu? Normal humans only had 361.

((And sorry Philo, I have no spell check on this computer. Goes in a corner and cries. I want my laptop back!))

Part 8

Wave Mission Start

Sasuke beat Sakura this time, slowly approaching Naruto; "What do you know about Kyuubi?"

Naruto stared at Sasuke before mumbling; "Too much damage already. I'll have to fix that." He sighed. "So troublesome."

"What are you mumbling dobe?"

Kakashi and Sakura had come up behind Sasuke, to see what Naruto had to say.

Naruto shrugged; "Only this... Oninpou: Memory Suppression no Jutsu!" he formed the Demon seal and shoved his chakra through it towards everyone in the clearing, creating a small shock wave effectivly removing the last few minutes from their concious mind.

A moment later Sakura was yelling at him; "Come on Naruto! Quit playing around! We have a job to do!"

Sasuke Hmph-ed and turned back to the direction they were heading. Kakashi looked around, he sensed a strange chakra in the air. He gave Naruto a hard look; 'Na, it couldn't be.'

Naruto followed behind them. 'Thank Kami it worked."

After that they continued on without any trouble. Eventually they reached the edge of a vast span of water.

"Make sure to be super quiet as we cross. Sound carries over water and we don't want Gato's men after us as soon as we land." Tazuna whispered.

The group of Konoha shinobi just nodded.

Naruto was bored. He knew what he was supposed to do, and it seemed stupid. Maybe he would change the past a bit. He sighed; the ride over was soooo boring. 'A good time for a nap,' he thought, and in moments he was out like a light.

When they finally arrived, Sakura had to beat him upside the head to wake him up. "Wake up, Naruto no baka! We're here. So wake up!" she kicked him one more time, just to make sure he wouldn't go back to sleep.

Naruto followed some ways behind the group, mumbling something along the lines of; "Stupid bitch. Why did I ever like her?"

A few moments passed, and then; 'There. I was wondering when he'd show up. 'Hello Haku. Now what should I do this time? Act like a fool and hurt his rabbit, or do nothing? Hmmm. Well, it worked out fine last time so...' Like a flash he pulled out several kunai and threw them into the brush surrounding them, seemingly with no reason at all.

"Baka Naruto! Quit trying to act cool! It'll never work!" Sakura yelled at him.

"Sorry Sakura-chan," he visibly shivered at the name, but Sasuke thought it was because he was afraid of her.

"Afraid of Sakura, are we, dobe. You're pathetic."

"Teme! I thought I saw something." Naruto dove after his kunai, giving a sharp look at where Haku was hiding, as if to say; I know you're there.

High in the trees Haku shivered; 'He is the only one of them to have noticed me. I shall have to be wary of him in the future. But he has made a grave mistake in not telling his team'

Naruto emerged from the brush on the other side of the path; "It was only a rabbit," he said holding the trembling, white furred creature up by the ears.

Sakura hit him once more; "You could have killed it!" she grabbed the rabbit from him and cradled it while turning her back to the orange clad ninja.

'I hate this jumpsuit. Hey, Kyuu, remind me to burn it first chance.'

**Ok, burn jumpsuit, first chance. Got it. Hey! What am I? Your secretary?**

'No, but I know that you hate it just as much as I do. I thought you'd be glad to destroy it. You've been complaining since we got here.'

**Fine.** Kyuubi huffed.

Kakashi was glaring at Naruto. Something wasn't right, and that thoughtful look on his face didn't belong on the face of the Naruto that he knew. Oh well, he'd figure that out later. For now Icha Icha Paradise: Winter Holiday: Limited Super Pervert Edition awaited, but first one thing; "Naruto, you shouldn't be throwing shuriken around like that... it's dangerous." he said holding his book protectively, one of the kunai had almost hit his precious.

'Damn. Missed.' Thought the blond. 'This henge is itchy. Can't wait 'till I can drop it.'

"Yo! Super Midget! Quit being a moron!" yelled Tazuna.

'Foolish Ningen have no idea.' Naruto brushed them off, continuing off down the path.

'Wait,' thought Kakashi, 'that rabbit had white fur, but it's spring, what's with it's colour? Rabbits fur changes colour with the sun, and white is the colour of winter. That rabbit had been kept in a cage for the purpose of kawarimi! So they're here already' He glanced around at the trees suspiciously.

Behind Kakashi, high in the trees, sat a shadowy figure. 'No wonder the Demon Brothers didn't stand a chance... Hidden Leaf's Copy Ninja, Sharingan Kakashi.' He heaved his giant sword into the air and hurled it towards the unsuspecting genin and their sensei. 'Die.'

'There!' Kakashi's eyes widened as he sensed the spinning death heading their way. "Everyone! Duck!" He launched himself at Tazuna, dragging the old man down with him, as two of his three students obeyed his command.

Naruto however, ignored him, side stepping the blade just when it would have sliced through him. The others didn't see this though; only the one hiding on the sidelines took any notice. Everyone else's attention was on the blade that had been embedded into a giant oak tree, or more precisely, the man standing on the hilt of the blade.

Naruto dodged behind his team as Kakashi glared at the man. 'This man is...'

"Well well well... If it isn't Kirigakure's missing nin, Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi said while putting a hand out to restrain Naruto who looked like he was about to do something stupid.

"Stay back Naruto. This ones on a whole other level." said Kakashi.

Naruto smirked; 'We'll see.'

Zabuza glared down at the Jounin; 'Let's see what he can do. I hope Haku is watching, I may be able to learn some valuable techniques. And then turn them against him later.'

Kakashi reached up to his forehead protector; 'Against him,' "It might be a little tough, unless I use this." He said as he pushed it up, revealing his sharingan eye.

Sasuke gaped. No one but the Uchiha could have the sharingan. Was Kakashi an Uchiha? No, his brother had killed them all. Except for him. So how did he have it?

Zabuza, however, smirked; "You appear to be Sharingan Kakashi." He bowed; "Sorry, but the old man is mine."

He looked to where he had been standing, but Naruto had already dragged him off towards the edge of the clearing. Naruto sat down next to Tazuna and yawned; "Don't worry, sensei will take care of him." he closed his eyes as if to take a nap, but was actually activating his bloodline. He didn't want Kakashi to see how much power he had, just yet. That and he might actually learn something new, or maybe it would remind Kyuubi of an attack that she knew so that she could teach it to him later.

"Good work Naruto." Said Kakashi over his shoulder. "Sasuke, Sakura, surround and protect Tazuna. Do not enter this fight, that's the teamwork here." He focused some chakra into his eye making the three dots surrounding his pupil begin to move. "Zabuza, you will have to fight me first.

Zabuza grinned; "To see the sharingan so soon... I am truly honored. As you wish then." He jumped to the ground hauling his sword from the tree.

Sakura looked questioningly at her crush; "What's a sharingan?"

He answered her, but his focus was on Kakashi; "The Sharingan is part of the Uchiha bloodline, only those of the Uchiha blood can have it. It is said that it can defeat all Nin, gen, and taijutsu. But that's not the only ability that it has." Sakura gave him another questioning look.

'Then how does sensei have it?' she thought.

"That's right," murmured Zabuza as he got in an attack form; "What's even scarier is that you can copy your opponents moves once you see them." He chuckled mirthlessly; "When I was still a part of Kirigakure's elite assassin squad, I kept a little handbook with me that had some information on you. This is what it said: The man who has copied over one thousand jutsu... Copy-nin Kakashi."

'What's going on?' thought Sakura and Sasuke as the two Jounin stared each other down.

'The sharingan is a special physical condition that only appears in a select few of the Uchiha.' He glared at Kakashi's back. 'Could he be…'?

His thoughts were interrupted as Zabuza rushed at Tazuna; "Enough standing around. I have to kill that old man."

The group of genin tensed, but Kakashi threw Zabuza back. "But it seems like I will have to beat you first!" The missing-nin dodged Kakashi's attack, landing on the water with one arm up. A thick mist began to rise around him, moving off onto the land, blocking him from view.

Sakura and Sasuke were staring at where he had stood on top of the water. 'How is he able to do that?' Thought both of them.

"Ninpou Kirigakure no Jutsu" Came a voice from within the mist.

"Be careful." Ordered Kakashi; "He'll come after me first. Momochi Zabuza is an expert in silent killing. You'll be dead before you know it. I can't use the sharingan perfectly, so keep on your toes." Sakura quickly looked around her, Sasuke glared straight ahead, trying to sense the enemy. Naruto just sat on the ground seemingly asleep.

**Hey Kit, if you get the chance, try out what Death gave you. I'd like to see what a shinigami can do. The one that sealed me was quite strong. Remind me to thank him if we ever find him.**

'Sure thing Kyuu. What do you say we have some fun? Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, Kawarimi no jutsu!' a shadow clone appeared right where he had been standing before, he had disappeared to somewhere in the surrounding forest.

The mist began to get even thicker. "Heheheheh. Eight choices. Liver, lungs, spine, clavicle vein, neck vein, brain, kidneys, heart. Which should I choose?"

"What?" yelled Sakura before glancing at Naruto; "Wake up Naruto-baka!" she went to hit him, but was stopped when he grabbed her arm.

"I would suggest that you refrain from hitting me when I'm asleep. Next time, I may hurt you."

Sakura quickly withdrew her hand. 'What's with Naruto? I've never seen him like this. He'd normally let me hit him and laugh it off.'

"Sakura! Quit spacing out! If you haven't noticed were in the middle of a fight!" yelled Sasuke.

Suddenly a wave of intense killing intent pulsed out from the mist. Kakashi easily dispelled it with a hand-sign, but the genin and their charge weren't so lucky. Except for Naruto, that is. He was a demon, so human killing intent was nothing to him, or his bunshin. His, when he decided to use it, would make even a kage wet his pants. Kyuu had done the same when she had attacked Konoha, and she hadn't even been using it. So he had his bunshin lean against a tree and go back to sleep.

Sasuke froze and began sweating. 'What dangerous chakra. It feels like I could be killed if I make a single move. It could drive a person crazy. The intensity of a Jounin… it feels like my life is being squeezed. I can't take it! I'd almost rather die now and get it over with.' His gaze landed on Naruto and his anger rose; 'that dobe acts as it were nothing. He can't be stronger than me. How can he act like that?'

"Sasuke… Don't worry. I'll protect you, even if it kills me," said Kakashi in a calm voice. He turned to them with a smile; "I don't let my comrades die."

"We'll see about that." Said Zabuza, appearing in the middle of the group. He swung his sword; "It's over!"

Naruto had switched to his Hanyou form. He would enter the battle as a half demon, so that he could use more power than his genin self would. The whole point of the bunshin was to make sure that he was not suspected. Also, it would be bad for them to think that any kind of demon were following them, so he would have to hide some of his Hanyou traits. He could do it with Onimetsuki, but he didn't want to take the chance that Kakashi's sharingan could break through it.

Carefully he wrapped his tails around his waist as a belt. After that he reached into the air and opened one of his time-space pockets, pulling out a blood red bandana. He tied it so that it covered his ears and part of his hair, which had grown several inches longer. Then he pulled out his Kage Hitai-ate and tied it around his neck. Hanyou Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing just in time to stop Zabuza. He pointed one finger at the ground beneath him.

A small fire erupted from the beneath the swordsman. A moment later he burst into water.

"What was that?" said both Kakashi. Zabuza was standing several yards behind him.

Zabuza saw that Kakashi was distracter by what had just happened, even though he was thinking the same thing. He slashed his sword at the jounin's back.

"Sensei! Behind you!" screamed Sakura, but she was to late. Zabuza's sword cut clean through their teacher's middle. Kakashi's body collapsed as a puddle of water.

'Mizu bunshin no jutsu…? No way! He copied it in this mist?' Just as he finished the thought he felt the cold steel of a kunai pressed against his neck.

"Don't move." Kakashi's voice was as cold as his kunai. "It's over."

The trapped jounin began to laugh; "Don't you get it? There's no way you can beat me with your monkey imitations. But it was impressive. You had already copied my Mizu bunshin jutsu, and you had it say those words while you hid in the mist and watched. Nice plan… But it's not that easy!" Zabuza collapsed into water as the real Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi.

Kakashi spun around just in time to duck under the blade that would have ended his life, but he couldn't avoid the kick that had been aimed at him. Zabuza's foot caught him squarely in the stomach, flinging him into the lake. 'Now…' Zabuza was about to follow, when he noticed the tacks around his feet. 'Makibishi.' "Foolish." He disappeared, reappearing on top of the water behind Kakashi.

'Sensei got knocked down…' thought Sakura.

'Good taijutsu.' As usual the mind of Sasuke was one-tracked.

Bunshin Naruto remained asleep.

Kakashi began climbing on top of the water; 'This water is heavy.' Thought Kakashi.

"Heh… Fool. Water Prison Jutsu" yelled Zabuza as the water around Kakashi rose up, trapping him in a sphere of water. "You may have tried to escape to the water. Bad idea. Now you're trapped in my inescapable prison." Laughed Zabuza. "It make's things tougher if you can move." He made a hand seal; "We can finish things later, but first I'll take care of them. Mizu bunshin no jutsu!" another clone of water rose from the lake and headed toward the group on shore.

Naruto glanced at the Mizu bunshin and it stopped in its tracks. "You may be good Zabuza, but you should listen to your own advice. You can't escape on water."

Zabuza began to laugh hysterically; "You think you can take me? A child taking on the demon of the mist!" he began laughing even harder.

On shore Sakura asked why Zabuza was called the demon of the mist. He heard he and decided to answer her. "When I was your age, these hands were dyed red with blood. Long ago, in the hidden mist village also called the blood mist village, there was a final obstacle in becoming a ninja. In the graduation exam." Zabuza chuckled; "A battle to the death between students. Friends that trained and ate together were pitted against each other, until one lost his life. Friends who had helped each other and shared dreams."

Sakura gasped; "Terrible." Naruto just yawned.

"Ten years ago the mist graduation exam was forced to change." Said Kakashi from within his prison. "The change came after the previous year, when a devil appeared."

"Change? What did the devil do?"

"Without pause or hesitation, a young boy, not even a ninja, had killed over a hundred of the students." Continued Kakashi.

Zabuza had a look of rapture on his face; "That… was so much fun."

Naruto chuckled; "I'm insulted. If that's all you people think a demon can do. You people obviously have never met a real demon." He glanced at Kakashi; "Or one that wasn't under someone's control."

Zabuza was the only one to hear what he had said, and he laughed; "What do you mean by that? Quit acting all tough. I doubt that you could even beat my bunshin, and it has only one tenth my strength."

Naruto grinned; "You're probably wrong, but we'll never find out will we?" he gestured at the Mizu bunshin who had begun to make it's way back toward Zabuza. "Suiton Supremacy: Traitor Bunshin no jutsu!" the people on shore were only able to make out the last part.

The bunshin dashed towards Zabuza with its sword raised.

While Zabuza was concentrating on dispelling his bunshin, Naruto thrust his hands into the air. His hands looked like he was trying to rip something apart, and indeed he was. As his hands moved apart, a gape was forming in the water prison.

When it was wide enough, Kakashi slipped out; "Thanks, but leave this man to me. He is no concern of yours," he said while examining the boy standing in front of him. With his sharingan he could see that the boy held an immense power within him, not to mention that a good bit of the power spiralled around his middle. "What's your name?"

"Don't get distracted!" yelled Zabuza as he brought his sword down on the jounin.

Naruto waved his hand and the water under Zabuza shot up and froze around his sword, just before it hit Kakashi. The swordsman's eyes widened in shock as one word escaped his lips; "Haku."

Naruto grabbed Kakashi and hurled him onto the bank next to Tazuna; "Watch over your client. You need some rest, your chakra is almost depleted." Kakashi pulled his hitai-ate over his eye and did as he was told; he had a feeling that it was in his best interest to follow the strange man's orders.

Zabuza had just gotten his sword loose from the ice that had encased it; "How interesting. I didn't think that there was anyone like him still alive. You would be a good opponent for him."

Naruto stared at him; "You're a fool Zabuza. The man who hired you will never pay you."

"Shut up!" Zabuza roared as he charged him.

"Very well then. I, Hitoshirenu Itazura, will defeat you." His hands moved in a circular pattern above the water. "He who has been blessed by Tsunami, goddess of waves. He who was trained by the elements. He who has defied death and time. You are summoned now! Suiton: Uzumaki no Jutsu!"

Zabuza stopped. He was forced to stop. The lakes current had changed, it was going against him. It was going too fast for him to keep going forward. But then, it changed directions. The entire lake began to spin; the centre began to sink as the waters spiralled around. Faster and faster they went until Zabuza was flung out and slammed into a tree.

Hitoshi ((That's Naruto)) stood, hovering in the air over the centre of the gigantic whirlpool. He calmly watched as his opponent slowly stood to his feet.

The water stopped spinning as Hitoshi's feet came in contact with its surface. He walked toward Zabuza, radiating no killing intent, but Zabuza could not help but be afraid.

'That kid just turned a lake into a death trap and acts like it was nothing. What power! If only he was on my side.'

"Good work kid. You're strong. I could use someone like you. What do you say to joining me? Together we could take over the elemental nations."

Hitoshi appeared to consider it, but then; "No." he raised his had and a giant spear of water condensed above it. The spear was about ten feet long and the shaft was one foot around. "You may die now, Demon of the mist."

Just as he was about to hurl the spear, several senbon needles struck Zabuza in the neck, apparently killing him. Hitoshi knew better, but he wanted to have his fun.

"You're right. He's dead." Said a voice from the trees. A few seconds later a mist Nin, wearing the mask of a hunter Nin appeared next to the body.

Hitoshi released his spear and walked over to the body and pretended to examine it. "So he is." He glanced at the hunter, giving him a look that said; "I know otherwise."

The hunter shivered at the look. "Thank you very much. I had been tracking him for some time." He/she bowed.

"I take it you are a mist hunter Nin."

"You would be correct."

As if to read the genin group's minds the hunter explained; "My job is to hunt down and kill missing Nins. I am a member of Kirigakure's special op.s team."

Kakashi was taking all this time to examine the two foreign Nins. 'Judging by their voices, they can't be much older than my team. Neither of them are normal kids, especially the one in black, Hitoshi he said his name was. I'll have to remember him. And that forehead protector, I've never seen a village that uses that symbol... Shadow?' He noticed that his team had tensed up again now that Zabuza had been defeated. Now there were two people who's intents were unknown, and no one to keep them distracted. "Don't worry. They're not enemies." He looked over at Naruto, expecting some king of reaction. "Naruto! Wake up."

Hitoshi's finger's twitched as he made his clone groggily open it's eyes. "Ehhh… What's up?"

Kakashi sighed; 'He's going to get himself killed it he keeps falling asleep during battles. Wait, how could he sleep through that? The killing intent should have woken him up. I'll have to talk to him some time.'

Sasuke glared at the two next to the body; "How could two kids beat that guy?"

"Calm down Sasuke." said Kakashi calmly; "There are people out there that are younger than you, and yet stronger than me." Sasuke huffed.

The hunter kneeled next to the body to pick it up. "The battle is over. Now I must dispose of this body, it seems to contain many secrets." He/she made a hand sign; "Farewell." And disappeared.

"He's gone!" gasped Sakura.

Hitoshi turned to leave; "I must be going as well." Under his breath he murmured; "Onikage won't be happy if I'm too late."

But Kakashi heard it; 'Hey! Wait!" Hitoshi turned back to him. "What village are you from? I've never seen a hitai-ate like yours."

Hitoshi smiled; "I'm from the Shadow." The shadows beneath him rose up and consumed him, leaving no trace that he was even there.

Kakashi looked at him group; "Now all we have to do is get Tazuna to his home. Let's roll." He started off down the path to the wave, his students and client following him.

A few seconds later he thought he heard the sound of a bunshin being dispelled, but when he turned around there was nothing. 'Must be hearing things.'

Hitoshi had turned back into his human form, Naruto, and re-joined his team and was calmly counting down in his head. '3…2…1…'

Kakashi fell on his face, and his team panicked; "Sensei! What's wrong?"

From his position on the ground he answered; "I think I used too much chakra between the Sharingan and trying to escape that water prison. So now I can't move." His student's sweat dropped.

Naruto walked over to him and picked him up. "Fine. I'll carry you to Tazuna's. Lead the way old man."

Kakashi felt himself loosing consciousness, but before he succumbed completely his last thoughts were; 'How did is he strong enough to carry me by himself.' And he passed out.

Ch 16


	9. Wave Continued

-1Disclaimer: I no own. You no sue. End story.

A.N: sorry for the long update, but I hope the length of this chapter makes up for it.

Warning: I'm not feeling to well disposed toward Kakashi at the moment, so watch out if you like him. ((At least for the first part of this chapter))

Part 9

**Wave Continued**

Kakashi was lying down in Tazuna's house, his genin team surrounding him. He was proud of how they acted when the two strange ninjas had shown up the other day. Well, he was proud of most of them. Naruto had been asleep, and that could have put them all in danger. Not much, since he was pretty much useless, but he still should have paid attention. He should have felt bad about calling one of his students useless, but… this was Naruto that they were talking about. No amount of training would help him. Oh well, when he got up he would see what could be done about all of his students. From what he had seen, they could do with some improvement in the chakra control area.

He yawned and pretended to get up. "Uh… sorry about that guys. The sharingan may be powerful, but it puts an enormous strain on my body. I wont be able to get up for some time. Good thing those guys showed up." He thought he heard Naruto snort, but decided his ears were playing tricks on him.

Just then, Tazuna walked in; "Well, at least we beat that strong ninja. We should be safe for a while now." He said while wiping the sweat from his brow.

Sakura looked at Kakashi like she had a question. "What is it Sakura?" asked Kakashi.

"Those guys, the one in the mask and the one with the bandana, who were they?"

"Good question. The one with the mask was a hunter nin. The mask is worn to keep their identities a secret. His job was to get rid of the body and leave no trace behind. You see; a ninja's body carries within it the secrets of all the jutsu he knew, some of which are specific to the village that he came from. A trained person would be able to recover those secrets. For example if I died, the secrets of the Sharingan could be revealed. If you aren't careful, there is a possibility that the enemy could steal your jutsu after you died. Hunter's keep the villages secrets from getting out to any other village."

"As for the one with the bandana, I have no idea. He said that he was "From the Shadow." I've never heard of a Shadow village, or seen anyone claiming to be from or knowing of such a place. It is possible he was bluffing, but I doubt it. I've looked underneath the underneath, and found nothing. All we can know about him is what he said, and that he is very strong."

Sakura shuddered; "So we know nothing about one. But that Zabuza guy has been chopped up and disposed of? Scary!"

'Stupid Sakura, it's the way of the ninja. If that scares you, you should quite being a shinobi.' Thought Naruto. 'Too bad they don't know what I do. Heheheh.'

Everyone went to their beds to get a good night's sleep. All except for Naruto, who went to scout the area? Something that he did not do the last time he was here. He knew where they would be going, so why not set up a few surprised for Kakashi if he was late. Who cared if he was injured, it didn't give him the right to be late all the time. Besides, what he had planned wouldn't hurt the Jounin, physically that is.

Out in the woods, the hunter was just about to cut the mask off of Zabuza's body, when a hand grabbed his wrist.

"Don't. I'll do it my self."

"So you're back already."

"Damn… you sure are rough." Muttered Zabuza as he pulled one of the senbon from his neck.

The hunter rushed to stop him; "You shouldn't pull them out like that or you really will die."

Zabuza allowed the hunter to remove the needles; "How long are you going to wear that stupid mask?" growled the injured nin.

The hunter laughed; "It reminds me of the old days." He said as he pulled it off. "Besides, it was very useful for this act." His face and voice were that of a girl. ((Cough cross dresser cough)) he had his black hair up in a bun and his hitai-ate wrapped around his head. "If I hadn't saved you, you definitely would have been killed."

"If you were going to put me into a temporary death you could have aimed for some safer pressure points. Annoying as always, Haku." He had just finished re-wrapping himself with the long bandages he used to hide his face.

The hunter now identified as Haku smiled. He couldn't have been older than Sasuke. "You're right. I just didn't want to scar your body. The neck doesn't have that much muscle so it's easier to hit the pressure point." He began to examine Zabuza. "You probably won't be able to fight for a week… but you should be able to move soon. Ah, look, the mist is clearing. Next time will you be alright?"

"I'll be fine." Growled Zabuza. "Next time I will beat the Sharingan. And that brat wont be there to stop me!"

Kakashi snapped up, his single visible eye wide. 'I must be missing something. Zabuza is dead isn't he? Then what's this feeling?' he laid back down, deciding it would be best to sleep on it.

The next morning at the breakfast table Kakashi was still pondering his problem. Sakura looked to her teacher worriedly before questioning; "Hey sensei… what's wrong?"

"Huh… oh, it just that body erasing teams normally dispose of the body on the spot that they were killed."

Sakura gave him a confused look ((does she have any other look?)) "So. What does that mean?"

"Don't you see? How did that masked boy dispose of Zabuza's body?"

Sakura shrugged; "How should we know. That masked boy took the body with him."

Kakashi put his hand to his chin in a thinking pose; "That's right. If he'd needed proof he would have just taken the head. And the weapon he used."

Sasuke gasped. 'Needles.' "No way."

Kakashi glanced at him; "Yeah. You're right." Tazuna just walked in the room as he finished; "Most likely Zabuza is still alive."

Tazuna froze; "W-what are you guys talking about."

Kakashi turned to him with a smile under his mask and gave his traditional "no worries" sound. "Maa maa. Nothing for you to worry about." He glanced around the room; "Hey. Where's Naruto? I haven't seen him since last night."

That got everyone looking until Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter came in; "You're looking for that blonde kid right? He left late last night. Said something about a contract and judgment. Any idea what he was talking about?" when everyone shook their heads no she went on; "Well he said he'd be in the forest so that's probably where you'll find him."

Kakashi sighed; "Well that'll be fine. I was planning on taking you all there for your training anyway."

Sakura was confused... "Training? What will a little training do? Our enemy is a ninja who you even struggled against even with the Sharingan." Inner Sakura was fuming; "What are ya trying to do? Kill us?"

"You guys are growing rapidly. Well, all of you except Naruto. All he seems to do now is sleep. Anyway, this is just training until I get better. You wont be able to defeat Zabuza without me, or that guy from the shadow if he decides to show up again. Don't worry about him attacking us. It will take some time for Zabuza to regain his strength. So until then, we train."

While all this was happening Naruto was out in the middle of the forest with training of his own, the training of death to be more precise. Naruto was working to gain control of his shinigami powers. No small feat for someone who was still alive, well, it was less of one since he was technically immortal.

He stood facing a small tree. "Hyaaaaaaaaa!" he yelled his fists clenched as he summoned his power. A white circle of light appeared below him. The light shot up from the edge, just high enough to hide whoever was inside. Then the dome of light shattered revealing a panting Naruto sitting on the ground. 'This may take a while.

He was wearing a black yukata, gold infused with red and violet ran along every edge in intricate patterns. Around his waist was a pure white sash that had his shinigami title inscribed on the tips: Left Hand of Death: Kitsune no Shinigami. The fox of death. On his back was his soul slayer: Judgment. It was still able to manipulate the elements, but it was now able to kill spirits, or send them to the afterlife. Who knows, it might even be able to revive the dead. Right now, he knew that it could cause just about anything to die.

Naruto slowly stood, drawing his sword from its resting place on his back. He faced the tree, Judgment pointed at its centre. 'Forgive me my brother.' For wood was the brother element of earth. He focused his chakra along the blade and prepared to strike.

"Hey Naruto! You here?" yelled Sakura as the rest of Team 7 came with earshot.

Naruto winced. Couldn't the girl ever be quiet? He replaced his sword in its sheath and powered down before leaning up against the tree and pretending to go to sleep.

A few moments later Kakashi spotted him and led his Team to where he was sitting. He nudged the boy none to gently; "Hey. Wake up. Time to train."

Naruto sat up with a yawn, one of his fangs glinting in the morning sun. "Eh, what?"

Sakura hit him on the head; "He said time to train Naruto no baka!"

Kakashi just watched. 'What was that strange chakra I felt? The residue centres around here.' He shivered slightly at the memory, 'so cold, so strong. Oh well.' "Ok. Time to start training. You all know about chakra right?" he looked at Naruto, he looked like the kind of guy to sleep during class, but to his surprise they all nodded. "Ok then. We will be learning how to control it. If you can't control your chakra, you may be able to do jutsu, but you will waste a lot of energy."

"How do we do that sensei?" asked Sakura, glaring at Naruto who looked like he had fallen asleep again.

Kakashi grinned evilly; "By tree climbing." A resounding "What?" followed his statement. He nodded as if it were the simplest thing. "That's right. Tree climbing." He thought he heard Naruto mumble something like: "Useless chakra training. Too many wasted days." But decided to ignore it, there was no way that Naruto would know what he was talking about. He glared at them, "Listen up you three. This is no ordinary tree climbing. You aren't allowed to use your hands." He got quizzical looks from two of them, but the last began to snore. "Well then, Naruto, if you think you know what you are supposed to do, why don't you demonstrate?" he motioned toward the giant tree behind him.

'Should I Kyuu?'

**I don't see why not. They'll learn eventually. Have fun!**

Naruto grinned; "Ok Sensei." Whatever Kakashi had been expecting, that wasn't it. He watched intently as Naruto walked up to the tree and bowed to it. Naruto spoke in a voice that Kakashi was barely able to make out; "Brother, may I do as he says?" Naruto paused for a second as if listening to some one. "Thank you. The blessing of earth is upon you. May you grow tall and strong, and live long and in peace." Naruto bowed again.

"Hey Naruto no baka, what are you doing?" yelled Sakura, "If you're going to do something then do it."

Naruto turned and glared at her; "Fine." He placed his foot upon the tree, and then the other. Everyone watched; stunned at what the dead last was doing. Kakashi activated his Sharingan and was surprised at how little chakra the boy was using. When he was halfway up something strange happened though. The bark of the tree grew out and wrapped around his ankles, as if to hold his in case he fell. Naruto chuckled; "If that's what you want." He continued up until he came to one branch and walked out on the underside. And he cut his chakra flow. Kakashi gasped and rushed to save the boy, only to see that he was still hanging from the bottom of the branch, the wood holding his tightly.

"How did you do that? Even I don't know a jutsu that does that."

"Heh. You wouldn't. In fact, it's not a jutsu. The tree seems to have taken a liking to me."

Sasuke glared at him, no one was allowed to be stronger than him. Especially not the dead last."

Naruto patted the bark and it let go. He did several flips before landing lightly on the ground. He smirked at them before leaning up against the tree and pretending to go back to sleep.

"Wow, Naruto. I didn't know you could do that." Said Sakura.

She was surprised when he answered; "There's a lot you don't know about me."

Kakashi finally recovered from his shock and covered his sharingan. "Ok then. Allow me to explain what Naruto just did. Just take all of your energy and focus on the bottom of your foot and cling to the trunk. If you can master this, you cant even imagine the things you can do."

"But how will that make us any stronger?" asked Sakura.

"Hold on. I was just getting to that. The goal of this exercise is to gain a greater control of your chakra. This is supposed to be a difficult skill to master, but if Naruto could do it so easily it must be easier than I thought." His head whipped around to where the boy was sitting when he heard a distinct growl along with a small trace of killing intent. 'I need more sleep.' "This type of tree climbing requires precise control, especially because the bottom of the foot is the hardest place to manipulate your chakra in. the second objective is to build stamina so that you can do stronger techniques more often. Here," he tossed some kunai at the feet of his students, "Use these to mark how far you've gotten. I'll leave Naruto to watch you since he's already proved that he can do it." Naruto opened his eyes and nodded. "Your goal is to get farther up each time. I don't expect you to make it on your first try. You might also want to get a running start." He turned back toward Tazuna's house. "I'll be off then." And he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke glared at Naruto; "If the dobe could do it, then it should be simple for me to do it." Both he and Sakura focused their chakra and took off for the trees. Naruto watched intently, wondering if anything would be different this time.

He sighed 'Guess not.' Sakura had made it to the top so he congratulated her; "Good work Sakura. Now you should do it as many times as you can."

"Shut up Naruto! It was easy, I'm sure Sasuke did it faster, and you should take your own advice." She glanced over to Sasuke and was horrified to find that he had only made it one-third the way up.

"Too little chakra and you don't stick, too much and you blow yourself off. Calm your emotions Sasuke, or you'll never make it," Naruto advised sagely.

"Shut it dobe." Growled Sasuke. Sakura piped up; "Sasuke's right. You must have cheated somehow. There's no way you are better than Sasuke-kun."

"Yeah, whatever you say. I'll just stand over here and practice my stuff. If you decide you need the 'dead-last's' help feel free to ask." He waved as he walked off to the side and began to concentrate on the ground. The area beneath him splintered and wrapped around his legs to his ankles, much like the tree had done. As soon as he was attached to the earth he began to funnel his chakra through the ground, strengthening it, nourishing it, so that the trees in the area could grow strong like he had promised. He also was using the ground to monitor the area to make sure no one could sneak up on them. Through the earth he was able to communicate with the trees, without being heard. 'Would you mind letting my teammates climb you. When they are done I will heal you of what ever damage they do to you.' He got what felt like hesitation, then a nod of confirmation. Pleased Naruto broke his link, keeping a small link. 'Heh. This is new. I'd better see what's going on. Might help me better understand why they're doing this.' He knew someone was watching but he didn't really care, he could beat the shit out of whomever it was if they attacked him, if they didn't, he didn't se why he should attack them.

Inari, Tsunami's boy, was watching him from behind a tree, wondering what the strange boy was doing. He sniffed and turned to go home, 'It doesn't matter. They'll all die anyway. Just wasting their time.'

A great distance away, in a gigantic cone shaped tree house, Haku was tending to a rapidly recovering Zabuza, and it was to this that Naruto was listening through his link.

Haku was watching the sleeping form of Zabuza when he heard the door creak open. In the door way stood three men. One was very short, appearing to be past his prime. He was wearing a black business suit and black sunglasses. His hair was white and looked like some sort of bushy… thing. The other men stood to either side of him, making it clear that he was the boss. The guy to his left wore a heavy jacket and a black hakama. His hair was long and straight, but his hat covered most of it. He was the shorter of the two bodyguards. The one to the right of the short one wore a striped hakama and no shirt. Tattoos crisscrossed his body, and a patch covered his right eye. His hair looked like it came out in random places, making him look rather weird. Both wore sword at their sides.

The person in the middle stepped forward and pompously stated; "I'm surprised you have the nerve to show your face around here after taking a beating like that. Ninja from the Mist would appear to be vastly over rated." The older man sneered. "You can't even clean up after your miserable subordinates. 'Demon'… yeah right! Don't make me laugh."

Zabuza secretly opened one eye; he had heard everything. 'After I get my pay, that man will die.'

The guy's bodyguards growled and reached for their katana, but Gato, their boss, halted them; "Wait a minute you two." He walked towards the man lying on the bed, "So… you have nothing to say for yourself?" he reached out to grab a hold of Zabuza's neck and strangle him. "No last words?" he jumped when he saw that Zabuza was awake, but could not move his hand.

Haku had snuck up behind him and grabbed his arm at the wrist; "DON"T DEFILE LORD ZABUZA WITH YOUR TOUCH." He glared as he began crushing Gato's arm.

Gato gasped; "How dare you!" as he struggled to escape the mist nin's grasp. His bodyguards moved quickly and drew their katana, slashing at Haku. But apparently they weren't fast enough, because by the time they had finished their swing, their swords were no longer in their hands. Haku stood between them with the swords at their necks. Both of them stared at him as his eyes narrowed; "You don't want to do that when I'm angry." Haku said in a deadly voice, killing intent leaking from him.

Gato and his guards began to sweat; 'He's some kind of monster.' All of them ran for the door, yelling threats behind them. "Th-there had better be no more mistakes. I-if you fail again, don't think you can come back here!" yelled Gato just before the door slammed shut.

Haku sighed and sat down next to his master.

"Haku, there was no need for you to…"

Haku cut him off; "I know… but it's too soon to finish him off. If we cause a commotion here, we might find ourselves on the run from** them** again." He smiled "For now, let's be patient."

"Ahhhh… yes!"

Far away Naruto smirked and shook his head; "So that's why his arm was broken. Very interesting." He looked over to where his team was training to find them resting. 'Oh well. At least Sakura made it all the way.' He glanced at Sasuke; 'and he made it half way. That's good. Ok then.' He walked over to his team; "Right then. Time to go back. rest is just as important as the work. If you don't rest you wont have the energy for the work."

"That's fine for you to say, dobe. You did nothing while we were working on chakra control. I don't see why Kakashi left you in charge. I would have been a much better choice." Sakura completely agreed and made it know, quite loudly.

Both were shocked to hear him, or so they thought mumble something about ningens having such big egos. But why would he say something like that? He had the biggest ego of all of them, and he was a human to. "Whatever you say. But it IS time to go back." the sun was just on the horizon.

Later that night, when everyone was asleep, Naruto left once again. 'Time for more practice in the Shinigami-ryu. Maybe I can keep it up for more than a minute this time.'

The next morning, when they woke up, Naruto was nowhere to be found. As such, Kakashi ordered Sakura to watch over Tazuna, while he and Sasuke went to look for Naruto. Sakura had complained at first, but dropped it soon after.

Deep in the forest Naruto stood before several hundred of his bunshins. Each one of them was in various forms. Some were human, some demon, others Hanyou, and some shinigami, and various combinations of elements. Naruto himself was in Hanyou Shinigami form. They all seemed to be waiting for something, a mark, or sound. In the middle of all of them, a leaf touched the ground. And it was chaos, utter confusion. Every Naruto was fighting the other, jutsus being thrown across like there was no tomorrow. In the first five minutes their numbers were cut in half. Suddenly one of them jumped out from the mass of arms, legs, and swords and yelled out; "Katon: Oni Karyu Endan no Jutsu!" he placed his fingers at his lips and a titanic dragon of white flames burst from his mouth. The dragon roared as it swept through the mass of clones, taking them all out in one swoop. When there were no more clones it moved on to the surrounding forest, effectively turning it into nothing but ash and burning stumps. Naruto then clapped his hands together and slammed them into the ground. A bright light covered the area. When it died down the dragon was trapped in a canal of earth, the only escape, the sky. And the dragon took it, shooting out into the morning light like a shooting star in reverse.

When it was all over, Naruto returned to his human form and leaned back against one of the stumps. "I'll have to repair this soon." He sighed, that had used a ton of chakra. He wouldn't be able to do much else with his power seal in place.

Kakashi and Sasuke had first gone to the field where they had trained in tree climbing. Both were shocked to find that the tree's bark had healed over night, making it look like nobody had been there at all. Kakashi just stared at the trees, something unnatural had happened. That's when the sounds of battle reached his ears. He jumped up, getting a fix on the location of the battle; "Sasuke let's go." He dashed off towards where the sounds were coming from. That was until they saw the massive fire dragon shoot off into the air. They both stopped short. Watching in awe as it spiralled higher into the sky.

As Naruto sniffed the air his eyes widened; "Uh oh." He smelled Kakashi and Sasuke. He would have a lot of explaining to do if they found him here. Quickly he shifted into his Hanyou form and changed his cloths to that of the Sennin of the Kagegakure. Just in time to, because the moment he finished, both the Konoha nins burst onto the field.

The jounin and genin looked around, there was nothing but destruction here. Kakashi ran over to the man standing in the middle of it all; "What happened here?" he demanded.

Hitoshi chuckled; "Just training."

Kakashi's eye bugged out. 'Just training! If this is what he calls training, how powerful is Kagegakure?' "That reminds me, you said that you come from a place called Kagegakure. As far as we know, such a place does not exist. Would you please tell us a little bit about it?"

Hitoshi seemed to think about it; "Hmmm… I can't tell you much, but it does exist. It is one of the last true hidden villages."

"Ok then, why has your village never sent any of your ninja to any of the exams? It is a good way to show off strength and get missions."

Hitoshi sighed; "That I wont tell you. And you're getting nosy." He made a hand seal and disappeared. His last words hung on the air. "Goodbye… for now."

A small wind blew across the new clearing. "Come on Sasuke. Naruto might be back at the house by now."

At that moment, Naruto popped back into his room, back in human form. "Baka Kakashi. Has to get in everything. Last time I help him. And I didn't even get to fix the clearing." He whined.

During all of this, Sakura had been following Tazuna through the village of the Wave. Currently she was sitting on the bridge watching the workers do their thing. She yawned wildly, she had been up all night wondering how Naruto was able to do what he did. Was it possible that he had failed on purpose? If he did, then why?

"You seem pretty bored here by yourself?" said Tazuna as he passed by her, carrying a few wooden beams. "Where's the short one, and the brooding one?"

She smiled; "Sasuke-kun is training, but Naruto… I have no idea where he is. Kakashi-sensei want to look for him early this morning. I was the only one left, so he asked me to protect you."

"Is that so." Mumbled the bridge builder as he got back to work.

A few minutes later a man came up to Tazuna, telling him that he could no longer continue working on the bridge. Tazuna of course did not like this so they began arguing heatedly about why he should stay, and why the man felt he should leave. But the argument ended as something strange happened in the sky.

A comet, bright as the sun, shot across the sky. And it was broad daylight. Never before had this happened. But there was something else strange about it, Sakura noticed. The comet seemed to be charged with chakra, because it was emitting small energy pulsed as it moved across the horizon. "So beautiful." She murmured. Her only regret at that moment was that Sasuke-kun was not there to share it with her. ((Like he would want to))

But the incident was quickly forgotten after it disappeared. The men went back to work, and Tazuna let the man leave.

Eventually Tazuna had to return home, and Sakura had still heard no word on weather Naruto had been found or not. Despite what most people thought, she actually cared for the blond idiot. He was always there for her when Sasuke ignored her, trying to cheer her up in one way or another. But recently he had changed. What caused it she did not know, but he was different. She was brought from her musings when she felt a hand near her rear. She quickly rounded on the perpetrator and gave him a mighty kick that ensured that he would not wake up for several days. "Pervert!"

From then on she was more aware of her surroundings, and she was appalled by what she saw. Shops barely had anything, and what they did have was old, stale and spoiled. 'How can people live like this?' she questioned herself. 'This is horrible.' "Tazuna, what's going on in this city?" just them she felt another hand on her. She twitched. 'Again.' She turned only to find that it was a small child, dressed in rags, holding his hand out, a hopeful look on his face. Her heart softened. She couldn't be mad at the child. She smiled gently as she rummaged in her pouch for something. Seconds later the kid's face lit up as she placed a handful of candies in his hands. He ran away with a bright smile on his face.

Tazuna watched all this before answering sadly; "It's been like this since Gato came. All of the adults have lost hope." He sighed; "That's why we need this bridge. It's a symbol of courage. The people need to loose their fear and stand up for them selves. I believe that if the bridge can be completed, everything will return to the way it used to be."

Kakashi and Sasuke had returned from their training to find Naruto sitting on the roof, facing the setting sun. His eyes were closed and he was sitting in a meditative position. Kakashi jumped up, intending to give him a lecture on how they were supposed to be a team, and that he should not just disappear without telling anyone, but he stopped himself. He had not seen it before, but a faint outline was surrounding the boy. It seemed that he was chakra training. But something was off. He was barely giving off any energy, and what energy he did give off was a strange colour. It was violet instead of the normal blue of humans. He knew it wasn't demon, which was red. He looked again. 'What is that?' a different colour seemed to invade the line surrounding the boy. Black and gold chakra was seeping into the mix. This was just too strange for the jounin, so he decided to wake Naruto from his trance.

But he forgot one rule. Never take anyone out of a trance, especially if there is chakra surrounding them.

The second Kakashi touched him, a massive backlash of chakra pulsed through the air, knocking Kakashi back and cracking the tiling on the roof. Naruto himself fell from the roof, still half in his trance.

His jounin sensei jumped after him, worried that he would hit his head, or gain a major injury.

Sasuke just watched impassively as Naruto fell. "Dobe." He mumbled. He really didn't care if anything happened to Naruto. He was only holding him back. if something happened to him, they might get someone stronger put on their team.

All of them were surprised when, still half asleep, and not really knowing what he was doing, Naruto flipped in mid air. Just before he hit the ground, he shot chakra from the bottom of his feet, slowing his fall so that he landed as light as a feather. He just stood there for a second before stumbling off holding his head. "Equivalent exchange. Energy and mass equal to output. Same material. Forbidden human transm… alche… Elric-sen…" he muttered as he entered the building unsteadily.

Kakashi and Sasuke just stood there. Sasuke was wondering how the dobe did what he just did, while Kakashi was more concerned about what his student was saying as he entered the house. He was sure the boy was about to say "Elric-sensei." Did the boy have another teacher? But he had never heard of someone named Elric in Konoha. He would have to ask him later.

You may be wondering why Kakashi wasn't worried about what Naruto did when he fell. That's simple really. He knew about Kyuubi and how it and Naruto were _supposed _to be linked. Surly Kyuubi wouldn't allow anything to happen to the boy. It had probably just forced some chakra through the boy's coils. Now that he should have cared about, but he was more interested in his book.

"Dobe." Said Sasuke again as he entered the house. Kakashi followed soon after, completely missing the flash of light on the roof as the tiles mysteriously fixed themselves.

That night at dinner, everyone was staring at Naruto. He had been acting strangely lately. And then there was the incident on the roof, even Sakura had heard about it. The boy was hiding something; that much was certain.

"It's been a long time since we ate with so many people." Said Tazuna, breaking to mood as everyone began to eat. His daughter nodded.

Sasuke ate ravenously, exhausted from his day's training. Everyone else ate at a more sedate pace, even Naruto, who barely even touched his.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura glared at him. "Won't eat anything but ramen? Come on! After everything she did to prepare this!" she was about to go on when Sasuke threw up having eaten too much.

Naruto looked up, raised a hand, and flicked one finger towards Sasuke. He sent a small burst on non-spirit healing chakra to Sasuke, getting rid of any thing that might be wrong with him. He might not like the Uchiha, but for now he was part of his team.

Sakura was over trying to help; "Sasuke-kun, you shouldn't eat so much so fast. It'll make you sick."

"No." he stated. "I must eat. No matter what I must get stronger."

Kakashi nodded; "But that's no reason to make yourself sick." He glanced at Naruto. He had seen the chakra that he had sent to Sasuke. 'Yep. Definitely hiding something.'

"Hey, what's this?" said Sakura who had wandered over to look at the pictures on the wall. "One of the faces has been ripped out."

Tsunami glanced up and blanched as Inari left the table. "That… was my husband."

"And the man they called the hero of the city." Continued Tazuna. Inari quickly ran from the room, Naruto staring after him.

'I was hoping that things would be better this time around. I was hoping that Death-sama might have changed some things.'

**No Kit. That is for you to do. He sent you here so that you could change the past. And that is what you must do. Help the boy find his courage once again. **Said Kyuu deep in his mind.

Naruto nodded absentmindedly as Tsunami finished telling them the story of her husband and what he had done for the village. A small amount of his black chakra rose at the memory. He may be able to bring him back if they still had the body. He was a god of life and death after all. He would have to see about that later, but for now…

Naruto stood up and went to follow Inari, until he felt a hand on his shoulder. "Maa maa. Where do you think you're going, Naruto. Where have you been all day?" asked Kakashi.

Naruto glanced up; "Training." And he continued after Inari.

Kakashi sighed. 'What's happened to you Naruto? You're not the same loud mouthed brat you were a week ago.' Secretly he snuck after his charge. What he heard astonished him.

Naruto had found Inari in his room crying, looking out over the sea. He quietly joined him. Several moments later; "I heard what happened to your father." Inari ignored him. "I understand how you feel, but crying will do nothing, your father would be ashamed of you now."

The small boy whirled on him; 'What would you know about it?" he yelled, tears streaming from his eyes.

Naruto smiled sadly; "A lot more than you would think." He released his happy exterior, showing his mental age, he had physically stopped growing a while ago. "A lot more."

Inari gasped at Naruto's eyes. They were not the eyes of a happy teenager. No, they were the eyes of someone who had lived longer than even his grandfather, and seen many many things. They held sadness, pain, loneliness. And yet they also held a warm light that welcomed all, friendship, and happiness.

"Let me tell you about how I grew up. In Konoha, I was hated from the day I was born. The villagers shunned me, or did everything they could to make me miserable. I grew up alone, not even one friend. But I continued on, until someone took pity on me. He took me in and taught me many things, and just recently gave me a bloodline. He had watched me my entire life. He is like a father to me. And the only reason he helped me was because I tried to do something about what was going on." He smiled at the awed boy. "He has a friend who may be able to re-untie you and your father. But you must prove that you are worthy of his gift first." 'Not exactly true, but I can't very well tell him that I am the one that can do it. I'll tell him later after Kakashi leaves.'

Inari jumped at him, light shining in his eyes; "What do I have to do?"

Naruto chuckled; "I believe that you already know what you must do." With that he turned and left, going out on the roof to watch the stars, and do some long distance alchemy to re-created the forest that he had destroyed earlier.

Kakashi walked back to his room slowly. 'So, Naruto has a bloodline, and it changed how he acts. Not necessarily a bad thing. But I wonder what it is, and who this father person is.'

Six days later, Naruto had finally got fed up with Inari doing everything he could to warrant his father being revived, and Kakashi-baka following him around all the time. That night, just before he knew Kakashi would make his rounds, he created a bunshin, reinforcing it with alchemy, and summoning the door to his den.

He extended one of his claws and sliced his thump open. Then he took the blood and drew the kanji for ninth celestial kitsune in the air. The blood spread out and began swirling before sinking into the boards below him. A red line appeared as the floor shook a little. The red line rose up, revealing a blood red tora gate with stars filling the space between the posts.

Naruto grinned as he jumped through. 'Take that Kakashi-baka.' The gate sank into the floor, leaving nothing but an Alchemic bunshin pretending to be asleep in the darkened room.

Seconds later Kakashi ran in having felt the chakra used to summon the gate. He breathed a sigh of relief; Naruto was still there. But what was that chakra he felt? He must be getting paranoid.

Naruto sat inside his den, thankful for the peace that permeated the area. Then a thought occurred to him. He was supposed to meet Haku in the morning. An evil grin appeared on his face. This would be fun.

He formed another seal, opening yet another gate, this one looked like a normal door. Stepping through it he appeared inside a quiet clearing much like the one in his den. The noise of many nocturnal animals could be heard in the surrounding forest. Some even came close to the young boy. They were not afraid of him, sensing that he was like them in some way, and would not harm them unless provoked. Naruto allowed them to stay, holding small conversations with them while he waited for the mist-nin to arrive. Being a demon he could easily communicate with all creatures.

An hour later he sensed a foreign chakra coming towards him. He smiled before faking sleep. The illusion was strengthened by the birds that were resting on him, as well as the small fox that had crept out and was sitting on his chest.

Seconds later Haku entered the clearing, surprised to find someone else besides him there. The boy before here did not appear to be moving, and several animals were perched on top of him. He was either dead or asleep. Asleep, he decided when he saw his chest rise and fall. He looked closer and had to suppress a frown when he saw the forehead protector. 'Konoha-nin.' He thought back to the battle and remembered that all that this nin had done was sleep. That in itself was strange with all of the killing intent being given off, but he shrugged it off. 'I feel sorry for him, but he is an enemy that must be dealt with.' He thought as he reached forward to end the boy's life.

His hand was halted when the fox resting on top of the boy stood and growled threateningly at him, as if protecting the one under it. He pulled back his hand. And watched intently.

The boy in front of him opened his eyes and blinked before sitting up. Naruto placed his had on the fox, quieting it. "Easy kit. He means us no harm. Do you." It was a statement, not a question. When Haku shook his head no, he smiled. "That's good. I'm not quite up to a fight right now. What are you doing out here, may I ask?"

Haku smiled as well; "I'm collecting herbs that only grow in this region." He looked at him questioningly; "I might ask you the same question."

"Taking a nap."

Haku rolled his eyes; "Obviously. What were you doing before?"

Naruto chuckled; "Training."

"That head protector… could you be a ninja?"

"Yes I would… a so would you, Haku of the Tsunami bloodline."

Haku jumped back into a defensive position. "How do you know that." Haku, in fact, didn't even know that his bloodline even had a name.

Naruto sighed. "Don't worry. I told you that I wasn't up to a fight right now. As for how I know… that's my secret." Haku eased up, but was still on guard for a surprise attack. "Do as you wish. I know that you fight for a precious person. That is why you are strong."

Haku nodded. 'This boy is strange. He knows I'm an enemy, but he doesn't act like it at all. How can he be so relaxed?'

As if to answer his thoughts Naruto spoke up. "I have something similar to the Tsunami blood." 'A lot actually.' "I know some of what you can do, and I know that the water will protect me, just as it does you. That is why I can speak to you like this."

Haku nodded. If any of what the boy was saying was true, the water would protect him. But he had thought that he was the last of his blood. "Wise words. And yes. I do fight for someone precious."

"I wish you luck, and I hope that our paths do not cross in the future…"

"…but a confrontation is inevitable." Haku continued for him. "I understand. At that time, we will see whose dedication is stronger. Fare well." And he disappeared in a swirl of mist.

Naruto turned back to the house. "That went better than I'd hoped. Well, time to get back to the house." He took off towards the house, not knowing that someone had been listening to him the whole time.

It was Sasuke. Naruto had not noticed because he had not been expecting him to be there, even though he should have. The same thing had happened in his last reality.

The Uchiha glared at Naruto's retreating back. 'He's hiding something. I had just seen him at the house, how is he here as well? And what's the Tsunami blood?' where Naruto was concerned, the questions just kept piling up. It made him mad that his teammate was hiding things from him. 'Dobe, I will find out. One way or another.' The reason he was even there was he had just made it all the way up the tree and finished making sure that he could do it many times. It still irked him that both his teammates had done it before him. He growled before heading after the blond haired shinobi. ((Naruto still had his henge active))

Back at the house, Kakashi was doing one-fingered push-ups with Tazuna and Sakura sitting on his back. Suddenly Tazuna spoke; "Um, I wanted to as earlier, but… why did you come here, even after you learned I lied about the mission?"

Kakashi continued with his exercise. "To abandon a mission is not courageous. Below courage there is nothing. One of our Hokage's once said that. It is the way of the ninja. We don't move because of money alone."

In another part of wave country, Zabuza held an apple in his hand. Seconds later it was reduced to little pieces across the floor, crushed by the hand that had held it. "Time to go Haku." Said the mist nin.

"Yes."

Naruto had just switched places with his clone in his room. 'Now. Time for a little experiment.' He formed a few quick hand seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" a clone of himself appeared next to him. He ordered him to help him clear the room, then lie down in the centre of it. After that was done he pulled a piece of chalk for his pocket and began to draw a complex array around his clone. Normally he wouldn't need to, but for this experiment it would be best.

It was the array for human transmutation, far larger than most and much more complicated. To this he made some changes, he added the kanji for life and death at opposite ends, several lines were erased, and a few were added. When he was done he opened a portal to his den and brought out jars containing all the elements that went into making one human. ((Which surprisingly could be bought on a child's allowance)) these he placed next to the clone.

Naruto smiled. 'That should do it.' he stood calmly next to the circle and switched to his shinigami form. A ring of black fire surrounded him, turning his cloths to the darkest black. His hair lost all colour, as it grew longer and spikier, becoming white as new fallen snow. He sighed, 'Now for the fun part.' He clapped his hands together, gathering as much alchemic and shinigami energy as he could handle, before thrusting it all into the chalk lines on the floor.

At first nothing happened. But then one of the lines began glowing a mix of gold and black. The light followed the lines, activating each part of the array. Naruto fell to the floor, having lost most of his energy; he reverted back to his human form.

That was a good thing to, because at that moment, Kakashi walked in. to say the least he was surprised. It's not every day that you walk into a room to find your student collapsed on the ground next to a chakra light show. He had felt the chakra, but he had not expected anything like this. Naruto just kept surprising him.

He rushed to his downed student, checking to see if he was okay. Seeing that he was just exhausted he laid him against the wall before moving to… whatever it was on the floor. He attempted to cross the first line but was thrown back. "What is this?" he asked his student who was barely awake.

Naruto thought fast. Most ninjas knew nothing of alchemy, and those that did thought is was a myth. He couldn't just say what it was; the ninjas back at the village would try and steal its secrets. Not to mention they would wonder where he learned it. They were just looking for a reason to label him a traitor and missing nin. ((Technically he was, but he wasn't a traitor)) so he mumbled, with the last of his energy; "Alchem Bloodline." And then there was nothing.

Kakashi nodded. 'So this is his bloodline. No wonder he's been falling asleep if this is anything to go by.' He made sure Naruto was comfortable before sitting down next to him, and waiting for the wall of light to die down.

He didn't have to wait long. A few minutes later the light suddenly disappeared. Kakashi stepped forward cautiously, noting the scorch lines on the floor and their positions. He stopped short at what he saw in the centre of the ruined floor. There sat an exact replica of Naruto. 'A kage bunshin? He went through all that for a clone?'

He punched the clone, expecting it to disappear in a poof of smoke. What he got was an indignant; "Ouch!" from the supposed clone. Kakashi's eye widened as he used his sharingan to examine the two boys in the room. Neither of them were clones. Both were flesh, blood, and chakra!

'This could be one deadly bloodline if use correctly. Hokage-sama would be shocked.' Thought Kakashi as he picked both boys up and carried them into the next room. He set them down on his and Naruto's futons, leaving them to regain their energy. Silently he walked down stairs, closing the door behind him.

The sun peeked over the eastern horizon to find most of Team 7 on their way to the incomplete bridge. Kakashi had told Sakura and Sasuke that Naruto had gone out training last night and hurt himself, so he wouldn't be joining them until he was feeling better. He was a little disappointed to find that neither of his students seemed to care at all. On his way out he had told Tsunami to watch over Naruto until he woke up.

About an hour later Naruto woke up fully energized and ready to go. He sat up and yawned, before looking around. 'Something was supposed to happen before I go after my team, but I have no idea what it was. Oh well, must not be important.' He shrugged before bolting downstairs, his cloths mysteriously appearing on him as he raced down the stairs. His pants were the purest black, along with his sandals. His shirt was also black, but it also had markings in white on the back and arms. On the back was his special seal, the nine-point compass surrounding the symbol of the alchemists. Underneath of it all he wore dragon scale armour, armour given only to the strongest in the shadow. The scales took on the colour or colours of the wearer's elements; in this case the body was a crimson red that meant fire, the arms guards were crystal blue for water, and the leg guards were a mix of forest green and soil brown representing earth. The armour was almost completely immune to all attacks based on those elements ((not that Naruto needed it, but most spirits hadn't been given the status second in command of their elements either, so they were still susceptible to some attacks from their elements)) and provided great defence to most physical attacks.

He rushed through the house, intent on getting to the bridge before anything major happened, but was stopped by Tsunami's voice; "Slow down! Your sensei said that you should take the day off to rest. I'm actually surprised that you're up already. You were sleeping like a log last time I checked."

Naruto gave her a smile and a nod; "Yeah, I'm a quick healer. Can you tell me where my team is?"

Tsunami shrugged. "They went to the bridge, but you really should rest." But her words were wasted as Naruto had left as soon as he was sure where his team was. Tsunami sighed; 'Stupid boy will get himself killed some day.' And how right she was, but what she didn't know was that he was already dead, for only the dead can become the gods of death. ((and yet he was still very much alive. Best not to think of it, much too confusing.))

"Damn them." Cursed Naruto under his breath as he dashed toward the incomplete bridge. "Was it too much to hope that something might change this time around?" just then he smelled something foul upon the air. The smell of blood spilled needlessly. He dodged off to where he smelled the stench coming from. "Shit! That's what I forgot!" he yelled before making all speed back to the house. Behind him he left a boar, slashed, bleeding, and dead.

Back at the house, Tsunami was cleaning up after that morning's breakfast. "Inari. Could you help me for a minute?" she called.

"Sure mom. But I'm in the bathroom right now!" he yelled back.

Seconds later the door exploded revealing Gato's two samurai thugs. (not the bathroom door, sick-minded readers. -/) Tsunami spun around, obviously startled, and a little frightened.

"You're Tazuna's daughter, right? Sorry, but you're coming with us," stated the shorter of the two.

Inari had just finished up when he heard his mother scream. Fearing the worst he rushed out; "Mom!" he stood at the top of the stairs. The two samurai below him had cornered his mother and had their swords drawn.

Tsunami looked up fear clearly etched on her face. "Inari! Run!"

The samurai with tattoos turned to his partner; "Do we take the brat too?"

His partner smiled evilly. "We only need one hostage. Have fun."

Tattoo advanced on the small boy, but was halted when the woman behind him threatened suicide if he hurt her child. "Humph. Thank your mom kid. Else you'de be dead now."

Inari began to cry as they took his mother away. He sobbed silently for a minute, before remembering what Naruto had told him.

_Flashback_

"_He has a friend who may be able to re-untie you and your father. But you must prove that you are worthy of his gift first."_

_Inari jumped at him, light shining in his eyes; "What do I have to do?"_

_Naruto chuckled; "I believe that you already know what you must do."_

_End Flashback_

"I know now. I won't lose another precious person. Even if I never get to see my father again, I won't lose my mother!" he declared before running out to stop those who would take away what was dear to him. "Wait!" he yelled when he had caught up to the two.

They slowly turned around, a strange glint in their eyes. "Its that kid." One of them mumbled.

Inari mad a mad dash, intent on doing whatever he could to save his mom. "Get away form Okaa-san!"

"Stupid kid." Said one as they both drew their swords. "Hya!" their swords cut the air, making a sound like angry wasps.

Ching

"Huh!" yelled the thugs. "What's this!" A giant sword had appeared from nowhere, stopping their blades an inch from Inari's head.

A voice came from behind them; "Sorry for being late, but isn't that normal for the hero of a story?"

Inari jumped at the voice, tears in his eyes; "Naruto!"

Naruto laughed. "Good job Inari. A little more and you will have earned my friends respect." He turned to the dumbstruck samurai as he pulled his sword from the ground. "Now… what to do with you two."

Finally snapping out of their trance they rushed at Naruto. "Stupid ninja! Like you could do anything against the two of us! You're just a weak genin!"

"Inari, you must never tell anyone of what you are about to see." He waited for the little boy to nod. "Very well." He let out a breath and relaxed. Suddenly he yelled; "Katon Supremacy!" flames shot up all around him, but the samurai would not have been able to stop in time, so they decided not to hold back and picked up more speed. "This is the end for you." Said Naruto, tiger, snake, ox, bird, snake, dragon, rat, tiger. "Katon Hadama no Jutsu!" ((fire bullet)) he pulled back his hand, fingers separated like a claw. Tiny violet flames appeared on the tip of each finger. When the samurai were within range he thrust his hand towards them, launching the fireballs at them.

The samurai smirked. Such a weak jutsu would do nothing against them.

Given, not many people even knew of this jutsu, besides its creator and his disciples who lived in the mountains of fire country. Some shadow ninjas had learned it and brought it back to Kagegakure with the hermit's blessings.

They swung their swords, thinking that they would destroy the flames and kill the boy. How wrong they were. Upon contact the swords melted and the balls of fire exploded, knocking the samurai back. the remaining three balls flew towards the wide-eyed men.

BOOM!

Smoke filed the area around Naruto and Inari. When it cleared, nothing was left of the thugs except for a circle of blackened earth. Inari's eyes were wide, but he was smiling. "Sugoi ne!" he yelled. "How did you do that? It was the most awesome thing I've ever seen!" the boy jumped up and hugged Naruto. "How did you know they were coming anyway?"

Naruto smiled sadly. "History is bound to repeat itself until one who knows it's course has changed it." he said, knowing that no one could possibly understand the meaning behind it. he looked at the blackened circle; "If they attacked here, your grandpa must be in trouble." He grinned at Inari; "I'm sure you can take care of things here."

Inari nodded; "I sure can. You hurry and save grandpa!"

Naruto then sank into the shadows at his feet, using them to get to the bridge as soon as possible.

At the far corner of the incomplete bridge a mass of shadows rose from the ground. The darkness spun around and around until it had take the shape of a body. A second later they sank back, leaving Naruto in their place.

He looked around. Smoke and fog could be seen further down, indicating the place of the battle. Naruto dashed off and made it to the edge of the fighting just in time to see Haku start his Demonic Ice Mirrors. 'I don't want to miss this. I may be Tsunami's heir, but I still want to learn this. Besides if he dies again I can continue his line.' he thought.

A whispered, "Onimetsuki." And his bloodline activated. His eyes became blood red and returned to their normal slitted shape while a gold ring circled his pupils. Nine green lines shot from the gold and attached to the sapphire jewel that lay in the centre of his eye. The green lines, which were normally near invisible, began to glow as he copied all of the data about Haku's bloodline's skills.

His hand moved on it's own, reaching out over the water. crack "Tsunami's Ice!" he said as the water below him froze over.

When his eyes stopped glowing, Naruto looked down dazedly; "That's new." But he gave it no extra thought as he saw Sasuke getting pummelled by the Ice Mist ninja. "Looks like the bastard needs some help." He smiled; "Then this alchemist will have to supply some."

Naruto closed his eyes and clapped his hands together, putting his energy into the circle created by his arms. "Renjutsu: Hyaku Niju Kunai!" ((Alchemy: One hundred and twenty knives))

A.N: This chapter is so much longer than the rest, and there's still more to it, but I'm splitting it in two. It will add some suspense, for those of you who said that it needed some. Once again sorry for the long wait.


	10. Gods and Demons

Disclaimer: Nah ah. Not mine.

A.N: before I forget, I want to thank my beta, Philoworm for all that he has done for this story. He is really the reason that this story is even readable. Thanks.

As for all of your questions on alchemy: Do I Have To Have A Reason?

This author is too lazy to do the whole thing, so I won't be writing Kakashi's battle as it is the same as it happened in the manga. I will write the parts that changed though.

Part 10

Gods and Demons

"Renkinjutsu: Hyaku Niju Kunai!" Naruto yelled as his energy crackled out into the air, condensing the air molecules into one hundred and twenty crystal knives. The blades hung in the air, not moving, until Naruto began spinning around. The kunai followed his path, becoming a cyclone of death. The suddenly he stopped, hurling the crystal knives at the ice prison.

Haku had sensed the strange chakra that had appeared outside of his prison, but had thought nothing of it. 'Probably that lazy one who had been sleeping during Zabuza-san's fight.' That was until he felt the attack coming at him. He looked out from his mirror and dodged to the other side just in time to avoid being skewered in a million different places.

Naruto's attack had not done very much damage, and what it did do was repaired almost instantly, but it had done what he had wanted. It had given him a window to get inside the ice, which was in no way demonic, as the title claimed. Naruto dashed in to find Sasuke covered in ice needles.

Sasuke saw that Naruto had finally arrived, but was disappointed at his foolishness. 'I shouldn't have had such high hopes. His is the dead last after all.' "Naruto! You fool! You should have stayed outside and attacked from there." He yelled.

Naruto just grinned. 'This will be fun.'

Haku smirked. The boy had a good attack, but he was foolish. "Heh, this makes it easier for me." He warped to another mirror before throwing more needles at the two.

Sasuke shoved Naruto out of the way before making the seals for; "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" the flames that emerged from his mouth shot straight at one of the mirrors. The water on the ground turned to mist as the super heated air came in contact with it. When the mist cleared, Sasuke was stunned to find that his attack hadn't done anything.

Haku appeared behind them. "You can't melt my ice with a Katon Jutsu of that level. You'll have to do much better than that if you wish to defeat me." Just then a Haku appeared in every mirror, each throwing a dozen needles.

Naruto's armour and mizu supremacy protected him from the attack, but he still did not want to reveal himself. Besides, this would make good chakra control training. He sent out his chakra to attach to the senbon needles, pulling them to his body and holding them there. They still did not damage, but it looked like it had hurt him. All he had to do now was act the part. The trick was to keep the needles there the whole time and not drop them, at least until Sasuke gets knocked out.

Naruto and Sasuke both groaned. Naruto looked around; "Where's the real one?" he yelled, but he looked at the real one out of the corner of his eye.

Haku noticed and wondered what he was doing. The blond seemed to be helping him. But why? Out loud he said; "Following me is impossible. You will never find the real me."

Naruto smirked; "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he would save his true clone for later. He couldn't very well let it walk around, it might get him in trouble, and so he used one of his shinigami powers to seal it behind a shikifuujin seal. It would serve two purposes there. One, it gave him a hidden tool, and two, it would be very bad if the Hokage ever wanted to check up on his seal and it wasn't there. And that was something that he really did not want to have to explain. Ever.

Twenty clones appeared, all going at different mirror. Sadly, but as expected, each were killed before reaching the mirrors. The real Naruto looked at his right hand; 'Yep. Still there.' His power seal was still intact, that was good, and it seemed that it affected his clones as well. He faked falling to the ground. 'Can't wait till teme passes out.'

From one of the mirrors, Haku spoke; "I use these mirrors to transport my self at near sonic speeds. To me, you appear to move at a snail's pace."

Naruto glared at the mirror that he knew contained the real Haku. "Shimatta!" he yelled. ((Damn it)) Then he looked up smiling; "So what…" he fake grimaced. "I won't die here. My purpose has yet to be fulfilled." Then lower, almost inaudibly; "That and I bet Shinigami-sama would send me back right away. Not to mention Kyuu-chan."

Haku looked at the Konoha shinobi pleadingly from behind his hunter-nin mask. "It is difficult for me to become a true shinobi. I do not wish to have to kill you." He prepared himself for another attack. "But if you come between me and my duty to Zabuza-san, I will destroy my heart and become a true ninja. Here, at this bridge, we will fight to see whose dream is strongest."

Haku switched to another mirror. "I will fight for my dream, and you for yours. Don't hate me for what I must do. My dream is to fight for and protect the person that is precious to me. And for that, I can kill my heart." The two ninja could sense his seriousness. "I can kill you."

Sakura stood by Tazuna, cheering her teammates on, but Kakashi cut her short. "No Sakura. Don't egg them on." He sensed her question. "Even if they could beat that technique, they could never defeat that boy."

"What do you mean sensei?"

Zabuza sneered at her. "He means that those two brats don't have what it takes to destroy their hearts and kill another person. Haku knows. He knows the true pain of being a ninja. A real shinobi cant live in a peaceful village like yours. Because there you cant have the most important thing. The experience of killing."

(Inside his own private pocket dimension the Shinigami chuckled. "How ironic. Too bad he doesn't know that the boy Haku is facing destroyed an entire world." An evil grin crossed his face as he continued to watch the show.)

Sakura yelled; "Then what can we do?"

Kakashi moved his hand to the hitai-ate that covered his left eye. "Sorry but, I'm going to end this now."

Zabuza smiled. "The Sharingan eh? Is that the only thing you can do?"

Back in the Ice Mirrors Naruto was sitting on the ground while Sasuke was standing, frantically looking around. "Damn it Sasuke, all we're doing is running around." Naruto complained.

"Shut up idiot! I can't fight him and protect you at the same time!" he got ready for the next attack. "We know were going to get hit, so try to avoid the critical ones. This guy must have a limit to his chakra." 'He's already slowing down.' He thought.

Naruto smirked behind his back. 'Just you wait Sasuke. Just you wait.'

Sasuke's eyes were on Haku who was still jumping from mirror to mirror. He was slowly adjusting to the ice-nin's speed. He was able to see his movements now, yet he couldn't see everything yet. Sasuke grunted as he felt several more needles enter his body. He looked at Naruto who was just as full of needles as he was, but there was something wrong about it, but he couldn't tell what so he dismissed it. he glared at his opponent; 'this is bad, he's just toying with us. I have to do something!'

Haku noticed something off about both of them. The black haired one was dodging his attacks, slowly learning his movements. 'This one can see something.' But when he came to the blond haired one that he had met in the woods he was stumped. All of his attacks had hit, but the boy seemed perfectly fine, yet he acted as if he were hurt. That and he was sure that he could see him. But why wasn't he doing anything? What was he waiting for? He looked down at them from the top mirror; "You move well… but this time I'll stop you.'

Sasuke focused on Haku. 'Calm down… concentrate… see through it!" his eyes suddenly snapped open as his eyes turned red with two comas in his right and one in his left. He easily dodged Haku's attack, bringing Naruto with him. Now he noticed that strange violet energy that was running just beneath Naruto's cloths. 'Must be some kind of Armour, little good it did him though.' He thought as he glared at the dobe. 'And where did he buy it and what does it do?' he wondered in the back of his mind.

Haku was surprised when Sasuke completely escaped his attack. 'No way! He dodged it!' he was even more surprised to find a pair of Sharingan eyes glairing up at him. "I see. So you also have a bloodline. I can't fight for much longer then. This jutsu uses up a lot of chakra, giving a limit to how long I can keep up this speed." He pulled out more senbon needles. "The longer this goes on the slower I will get and the better your eyes will be able to track me." He rushed at Naruto; "This is the end!"

Naruto knew what was going to happen, but he enhanced his armour with more chakra just in case.

Sasuke was shocked. He was not the target of this attack. Naruto was! 'Damn. Hope I make it in time.' He thought as he moved to defend his teammate.

With Kakashi and Zabuza, Kakashi was explaining why he though his team would win. He told Zabuza that Sasuke was the last surviving member of the Uchiha clan. The missing-nin was not impressed. He said that Haku was the same and that no one had ever beaten his attack. Then they charged at one another.

Naruto looked up to find that Sasuke had knocked Haku to the ground on the other side of the prison. He also saw that Sasuke was bloody and close to passing out. 'About time.' He thought. Outwardly he expressed his (fake) concern for the last Uchiha. He knew that he would survive, so he really didn't care. "Why… Why did you do it Sasuke?"

Sasuke grimaced; "I hated you…"

"Why? I never asked for your help!" Naruto yelled.

"I don't know. My body just moved by itself." And then he collapsed. Naruto caught him and set him down gently. "I told that man," he said weakly, "that I wouldn't die until I killed him." He closed his eyes. "Don't you die to." That was the last thing he said before he passed out.

Behind him, Naruto heard Haku speak. "That boy landed a blow on me without flinching. He died to protect you, a precious person, knowing that it was a trap." Haku stood to his feet. "He is a shinobi that deserves respect." He re-entered his mirrors. "Is this the first time that you have seen a friend die? This is the way of the shinobi…"

Naruto stood to his feet. "Shut up." When Haku remained silent he continued. "I know that he isn't dead, so stop talking as if he is. But still, we have to finish this battle. Now that he is out I can fight without holding back."

Haku's eyes widened behind his mask when Naruto released the chakra holding his senbon. Everything that he had thrown at the boy fell to the ground useless, having done almost no damage at all. "But…what? How?"

Naruto sniffed. "I know he's not dead because you did the same thing to him as you did to Zabuza. The senbon are in the exact same places. And as for your needles, that was just a chakra control exercise." He pulled off his jacket, revealing his armour. "Custom armour made by alchemy." He stepped forward a bit. "Now, lets start again. Kitsune Jutsu: Hanyou Form!" Naruto was enveloped by violet chakra for a second before emerging in his half-demon mode. "History will take its path no matter what, unless someone who knows the way alters it." With that Naruto slammed his fist into Haku's stomach, sending him crashing through his own technique.

((Remember for this part that some of Kakashi's memory has been erased))

Kakashi and Zabuza's battle stopped when they both felt Naruto's demon chakra. Kakashi spun around just in time to see Haku come flying through one of the mirrors. 'This chakra, that force… No! Could it be that his seal has broke!' he turned back to a stunned Zabuza.

Zabuza was wondering where the powerful chakra was coming from. He knew that it wasn't Kakashi's; the energy was stronger than that. The closest person he knew that was even similar was that boy who had interfered the last time that he had attacked Kakashi and his brats.

Kakashi calmed down slightly. 'The seal hasn't completely broken, but it feels close. I'll have to make this quick.' He thought as he pulled out a summoning scroll.

Haku stood shakily to his feet. "Why?" he asked. "Why did you hold back until now?"

Naruto stepped out of the crumbling ice prison, carefully hiding his tails from the other's battle. "Why did I hide my strength you ask? For one I knew that Sasuke wouldn't die. Even if he did, I have death's favour so…" he left that sentence hanging. "And two, I like people to underestimate me. Back I my home village I have been hated since the day I was born. People fear me what had been sealed inside me. They feared that it would take over me and destroy them all. If I showed them how strong I was, they would surely try to kill me. No, it is better that they think me weak. For now at least."

Haku nodded. 'There is much wisdom in his words, far more than one his age should have.' Out loud; "You are just like me. Hated for something that you had no control over. But we are different in what we do with that power. You hide yours, while I put mine in the service of my precious person, and I will fight to the very last for Zabuza-san!" he stated while forming an ice sword in his hand.

Naruto nodded before forming a sword of his own out of earth using alchemy. "Lets finish this then."

They both ran forward, Haku pouring his all into the attack as Naruto did the same, but at the last second Naruto wavered. Haku would have to save Zabuza. That is what history dictated. So he moved his sword at the last second.

There was a flash of light and the two ninjas stood several yards apart.

Naruto brought his hand to his bleeding shoulder, staunching the flow of blood before his healing factor kicked in. Haku stood back facing him. His mask cracked before falling from his face. He turned to look at Naruto coming towards him, his shoulder smoking as his wound closed. 'Zabuza-san. I cannot defeat this boy. I'm sorry… Zabuza-san.' Haku closed his eyes and waited for the final blow.

Naruto brought his sword up and placed the tip of it a small distance from Haku's neck and did not move it. Haku opened his eyes when the blow did not come. He just stared at the sword in front of him. "Why did you stop? I tried to kill your friend, so why cant you kill me?"

Naruto lowered his sword, but his fist replaced it a second later on top of Haku's head. He had resumed his human form so he didn't do that much damage, only knocking him to the ground. "You're and idiot to think that I would kill you for that." He got a far away look in his eyes as he remembered the annihilation of his last world. "Life is far to precious to destroy. Your life is not worthless. If your reason for living is gone, find a new one. There is always something to live for." Knowing what would come next he continued; "Zabuza cares for you more than you think. Even if you lost this battle, you will still be useful to him in others. Learn from this and get stronger. Who knows what may come of it. And even if you don't feel like living right now…" he looked to his sensei's battle; "there is at least one more thing you can do for him." He said with a sad smile.

Haku followed his gaze to find his precious person being restrained by a pack of dogs while Kakashi stood a distance off powering up a chidori. His eyes widened as he realized what the blond haired shinobi in front of him was talking about. "You would really let me do that?" all he got for an answer was Naruto picking him up and throwing him into one of his last remaining mirrors. With the last of his energy Haku made one last mirror in front of Zabuza. He emerged from it and spread his arms wide, protecting his precious person with his life.

A second after Haku disappeared into his mirror, Naruto fell to the ground, racked with pain. His whole body was shaking violently as his chakra amassed around him. Even though he did not notice it, time had frozen around him. He shuddered and called out in his mind; 'K-kyuu-b-bi wh-what's hap-penning?' as his body continued to shake uncontrollably.

Kyuubi sat in the back of his mind muttering unintelligible things. **It shouldn't be possible. This has never happened before. Why is this happening now? What's this mean?**

Naruto yelled again; "Kyuubi!"

The fox snapped out of it. **Just hold on Kit. This will be over soon.**

"What's happening?" Naruto stuttered through the pain. As if in answer, all of his tails appeared silently behind him. The pain seemed to concentrate on the area where his tails connected to his body. CRACK Naruto howled in pain as another tail shot from the base of his spinal cord. The pain slowly began to disappear.

"Congratulations," said a female voice from behind him, "on becoming the first Juubi no Kitsune." Naruto did not worry; he knew the voice. The words flowed like a stream and the voice was warm and kind.

Naruto turned around with a smile on his face; "Tsunami-sama." He bowed.

Tsunami looked down on the blond kitsune lord and smiled. "Rise young one." When he had stood she continued speaking; "I'm sure you have no idea what just happened, and I know Kyuubi doesn't either." She laughed at the puzzled look he gave her. "That's because you are the first ever to have achieved ten tails. You see, a demon can get three tails before coming to a wall in their strength. Each wall has a different thing that must be done to over come it. And as you go on, each wall gets harder, even the first wall is near impossible. Kyuubi was the strongest because she had overcome two of these walls and gained as many tails as possible. You however, have overcome three walls, and that young Kit, has never been done before so no one has known what new powers come with it." at this she smiled. "As far as I can tell, the tail is a blank, meaning that it can be anything, so as your gift for achieving the impossible, I will be the one to decide the power of your tenth tail." At this she let out a small giggle. "I here by name you the God of Water." Kit looked up sharply and she put a hand on his forehead, "This is my last act as the Goddess of water. Kit Bikyuu, you now have complete control of all the waters in the world. It is your job to govern them as you see fit. Most of the time they will do as they have always done, but if you command it, they will do anything."

Kit spluttered; "But what about you?" his arm stung at his fusion seal gained another blue tail. As soon as it appeared, all of the other blue tails gained a golden lining.

Tsunami grinned; "I shall live inside of you with Kyuubi. From inside you, I will teach you how to use your new powers. Even though you now control everything about water, there are some styles that I will teach you that will compliment that power. I must also teach you all about different types, bodies, and states of water, as well as their currents and properties." She paused and looked over at the frozen Haku; "But for now I think that you should finish up this battle. What are you going to do this time? Now that you have the power to stop it?" she shook her head, "Never mind. It's not for me to know anymore. Trust your instincts, they will rarely lead you wrong." Tsunami began to fade into a glowing blue mist that spiralled around his head for a moment. "One more thing, next time you visit us in the elemental room, we'll unlock that one door that was chained up. I believe now that you have obtained both Oni and Kami status that you are ready to remember what had been forgotten."

The mist faded, leaving Kit (Naruto) looking at a still frozen battle. His hands moved on their own, moving so that one hand was on top of the other, his fingers curled so that each one touched its opposite on the other hand. His arms tensed as he spoke; "Jikoku Kai!" (Time Unseal)

A splash of blood coated Kakashi as his chidori ripped into his opponent, or so he thought. His nin-dogs disappeared in a cloud of smoke as he stared at the face of the person he had killed. His fist had pierced the left side of Haku's chest, right where the heart would be. Haku's last words before he fell were; "Good…bye… Zabuza-san."

Zabuza had been shocked when Haku had gotten between him and certain death, but he got over it quickly; "You were wrong again Kakashi." Was all he said. He was still alive, contrary to the Copy-nin's prediction. "Good job Haku."

Naruto watched from where he had been standing. His cloths, which had turned blue the moment he had gained the title of Mizukami were now melting into a pitch black. The mist that hid the bridge was being drawn toward him as he began to transform yet again. Sadly no one noticed, except for maybe Sakura, but she was more concerned about Sasuke behind him.

Zabuza brought his sword down with the intent of slicing through both Haku and Kakashi, but the Leaf Jounin would not allow that. He quickly grabbed the dead boy and jumped out of the way. He gently laid Haku down on the bridge before facing Zabuza again.

Zabuza laughed; "With Haku dead you can move again." He acted like he didn't even care.

Naruto walked toward them slowly. Kakashi, hearing his footsteps called out; "Naruto, stay back!" but when the footsteps didn't stop he turned around to tell the boy directly, but stopped short. Whatever he had expected, this was not it. His student was dressed in all black except for a white sash that held his kimono together. His hair was also snow white and his eyes glowed blue in the semi darkness. Kakashi knew that this was not the influence of the Kyuubi because its presence had faded some time ago, but this was almost just as scary.

Naruto kneeled down next to Haku's body and saw the death spirits that now hung around the body. He looked up at Kakashi and said; "Do what you must do, leave this one to me. Do not kill the man from the mist, for the one who commands him will prove himself a traitor. Bide your time and hold him off till then." He said ominously before going back to the body in his arms.

Kakashi could only nod; maybe this was Naruto's new bloodline. 'But those words, what could he mean by them?' no matter how he thought about them, he could not help but feel that he should follow them.

Sakura came up behind Naruto, bringing Sasuke's body with her. She watched as he passed his hands over the body and mumbled to himself. In truth, he was brushing away the spirits of death and telling them to leave that one alone. When they asked by what authority he commanded this he answered simply; "The Left Hand of Death." They nodded and left. Naruto then used some of his chakra to heal the wounds. A black energy moved about their bodies as Naruto restored Haku's soul, bringing it back from the land of the dead.

Sakura wanted to tell him that it wasn't worth it; that he was already dead, and besides, he was their enemy. She stopped when the dead boy's body regained some colour and moved slightly after the hole in his chest had been healed. She jumped back and squeaked. This was just creepy. First her dead last teammate was dressed in all black ((she thought that all he would ever wear was orange)) and standing next to a dead body. Then he heals that body and it comes back to life. 'Wait, comes back to life! Maybe he can bring back my Sasuke-kun!' she yelled in her mind.

She tapped him on the shoulder to get his attention. When she had it she asked; "Hey, do you think that you could do that for Sasuke-kun?"

Naruto looked at her, then at Sasuke, then back at her. "No." was all he said.

When she heard his answer she blew up. "What?" she yelled. "You bastard. Why won't you do it? Is it because he's better than you? Do you think that with him gone people will like you more? Do you think that you would have a better chance with me with him gone? ARRRRRGGGGG! I wish you had died instead! You probably let him get killed!" she continued to rant at Naruto whose anger was growing by the second.

Finally he had had enough. SLAP! Sakura's head whipped around with a red hand mark on her cheek. Naruto glared at her; "I can't do the same for him because he isn't dead!" he said calmly, but some of his anger still leaked into his words. "Or hadn't you noticed that the needles are in the same place that Zabuza's had been? Just take them out and you'll have your precious Sasuke-kun back in a few minutes." He said disgustedly before walking to where Kakashi was holding Zabuza by the back of the neck.

There came the tapping of a cane on cement before a business like voice yelled; "It seems you've failed me again, Zabuza."

Zabuza spun out of Kakashi's grip. However he did not escape unscathed, the muscles in his arms were ripped open rendering them useless. Kakashi stared at him; "Now both of your arms are useless, you can't even do a hand seal."

Gato grinned evilly at his hired ninja. "How disappointing." He chuckled when Zabuza asked what he was doing there with a small army behind him. "The plan has changed a little. Originally I had planned to have you killed after you got rid of Tazuna, but seeing as how you are pretty defenceless right now I might as well take you down at the same time as these other incompetent ninja." A smirk appeared on his face; "I never intended to pay you, not from the beginning." From there he continued to put down, not only the ninja in front of him, but also every shinobi in the world. The final insult was to Zabuza's title, calling him a baby devil at best. The men behind him cheered for the carnage that was to come.

Zabuza turned to Kakashi; "I'm sorry, this fight is now over. I no longer have a reason to kill Tazuna." Kakashi let him go with a nod.

Gato glared at Haku then smirked and began walking toward the boy. "That's right. I owe this one for breaking my arm." But he was stopped by a giant sword that found its place in front of him.

Zabuza looked sadly at Haku, not knowing that he was still alive. "I'm sorry Haku. I used you just as Gato used me. But I will have revenge for your death." He pulled his sword out from the ground; Gato had since fled behind his army.

Naruto had thought about telling him, but instead decided to watch what played out. He still had his mask to keep up so he moved to follow, but Kakashi stopped him. "This is his fight." Said the masked jounin. "Let him be." Naruto nodded, but that didn't mean that he wouldn't help if he wanted. Kakashi let him go, both watching Zabuza intently.

"Boy." He called. "Let me borrow your kunai." Naruto nodded and brought it to him while enhancing it with some of his demon chakra.

When Zabuza grasped it between his teeth his eyes widened at the chakra in the blade. He recognized the chakra. 'This boy is the one that defeated me earlier. And this chakra, it is that of one not human.' He nodded his respect to Naruto before glaring at the amassed bandits.

With no warning he charged them, ignoring Gato's orders for them to kill him. This would be his last fight; he had nothing to loose. This was his death march. The bandits cheered, that was until several found themselves dead, cut in several places, not only by steel, but also by the volatile chakra in the blade.

The chakra in the blade flared and emerged around Zabuza, making him look like a true demon. Somewhere in the midst of all the yelling that it caused, a low voice could be heard. "This is my gift to you, Demon of the Mist. The form of a demon given to a human by a real demon. Use it well."

The bandits soon overcame their fear and ganged up of the wounded mist nin, dog piling him. But Zabuza would not have it; he spun around the blade in his mouth easily slicing them all to bits until there was a clear path between him and Gato.

Outside the battle Naruto looked on with a blank look on him face. Kakashi looked at the boy worriedly, this was not the expression that he had expected. He was shocked even more when he heard Naruto speak. He almost didn't hear it. Naruto had spoken just loud enough for him to hear it. "Gato, the gods of death have seen what you have done, and they have judged you unworthy to keep your life. The Left Hand shall have your soul this day." Kakashi shivered at the boy's words and tone. It was icy cold. He hoped he would never hear something like that again from the normally warm ninja.

Zabuza grinned evilly. 'Revenge is nigh.' He reached Gato and held the blade to his neck, the chakra nicking the skin and feasting on the blood.

Gato gurgled out past the blood that was leaking from his mouth. "Just die already. If… you want to go to the same place as… your friend already."

Zabuza growled. "I have no intention of going to the same place as Haku."

Gato grinned past the blood; "You wont survive."

"You and I together… are going to hell!" Zabuza roared as he brought the kunai back and rammed it into Gato's neck, killing him. But that was not all that happened. The kunai began to gather all the remaining energy in the dead man's body, before exploding, leaving nothing left of the body. "Not too bad for a baby devil." was all Zabuza got out before falling to the ground.

The group of bandits recoiled for a second before yelling; "You killed our meal ticket! Now were gonna have to pillage this city!" they moved forward as one yelled; "Take anything of value!"

Just before that, Sasuke had just stared to regain consciousness. His eyes slowly blinked open to see a mass of pink above him. He felt a pain in his side as she removed one of the needles. "Sa..Sakura…" Sakura's head whipped up. "You're heavy."

A tear fell from her face. "Sasuke-kun!" she yelled over and over again, crying and hugging him the whole time.

Sasuke grunted. "Sakura that hurts." He shrugged off her apology before asking what happened to Haku.

Sakura replied that Naruto had defeated him with some strange technique and had left him for dead while he cared for their enemy. Sasuke grunted, that was just like the dobe, he didn't believe that Naruto had left him for dead though, Sakura was probably stretching that part. But he still did not like the fact that Naruto had defeated someone that he could not, even if he had been willing to give his life so that he could do it. He rationalized that he had worn him down to the point where even some one like Naruto could beat him.

Sakura went on complimenting him and putting Naruto down. One comment caught his interest; "Naruto just walked over to him and mumbled something and Haku woke up. I could have sworn he was dead. Then when I asked him to do the same for you he ignored me. Can you believe that?" the rest was lost to Sasuke as his mind went through the implications of that. One, Naruto had done the same thing that Haku had done to Zabuza and him, just to look cool. Two, Naruto was a great medic and had beaten Haku within an inch of his life. Those two would have been reasonable if they both hadn't led to Naruto being far stronger than he was supposed to be. The third thing was completely un-reasonable, and that was that Naruto really had brought him back from the dead. But if that were true, might he be able to resurrect his clan? No! He was not thinking like that. It was completely impossible, especially from the dobe. So he filed it away for later thought. Maybe.

Sasuke came back out of his thoughts when he felt the chakra in Zabuza's kunai explode, killing Gato. He watched intently for what would happen. As much as he hated to admit it, he wouldn't be able to do a thing if they attacked him in this state.

Naruto looked down on Zabuza's body. "You did well."

Zabuza looked up at Naruto and was about to let he know that he knew who he really was when Naruto stopped him. "Save your strength." He said. "Now is not your time to pass on, and neither was it Haku's. He's over there waiting for you." Then he bent down so that only Zabuza could hear him; "I will finish this." The black aura kicked up around him again as he stood once more. He took a few steps forward towards the rushing army.

Kakashi was going to stop him, but he himself felt something stop him. He turned to see what it was but nothing was there. ((Naruto's tail))

The bandits laughed at the boy approaching them; "You guys are taking this too lightly!" they yelled. "Only sending a gaki to face us."

Naruto grinned before clapping his hands together and slamming them into the ground. "Renkin Sui-shinigami Jutsu: Kisu no Touketsu Zetsumei!" ((Alchemic Water-Death god Technique: Kiss of Frozen Death)) snow started to fall around the army of bandits making them laugh even harder. A sheen of ice spread from Naruto's hands across the bridge. The bandits continued on avoiding the ice but paying no attention to the snow.

"Yeeeeaaaaaaarrrrggggg!" one of the bandits yelled as the first flake of snow touched him. The seemingly harmless snow exploded on his arm turning it into solid ice. Spikes of frozen water shot out from the ice arm further damaging the unlucky bandit. The rest of them froze for a moment before scattering to get away from the deadly snow.

Naruto smiled as he straightened. He held out one hand and let the snow collect on it before blowing it out into the midst of the bandits. "So pretty yet deadly with the right application of a certain mix of chakra." He mumbled past the screams of the bandits as they were all turned into ice statues. Then he collapsed from chakra exhaustion, or so it seemed. It was really Tsunami pulling him into his inner world.

From the other side of the bridge an arrow zipped through the air and struck one of the statues, shattering it. a mass of villagers appeared at the other end of the bridge with Inari in the lead.

While everyone was distracted by the shattered bandit, Naruto's body disappeared in a plume of smoke. He teleported out of everyone's range and released the seal o his stomach that contained his True Bunshin. When it had resumed physical form Naruto told it to go join the others and act as if it didn't know what was going on, while he transformed into the Itazura Hitoshirenu, the Sennin of Shadows.

He jumped to where Naruto had been and looked at the startled group. "Sorry for the deception, but I thought it best to aid you while your third member was off resting."

Zabuza gave him a hard look until the bunshin Naruto came running up behind the villagers asking what was going on.

Inari whiled about not getting any action while the bunshin Naruto joined him. Sasuke stood off to the side glaring at him. "Dobe."

Hitoshi picked up his sword and swung it in the general direction of the bandits, moving them all into the sea. They were all dead already so this wouldn't hurt. Shinigami-sama would be having some fun for a while with all the new corrupt souls that he would be getting. He turned back to the ninjas. "Looks like its over. Zabuza, you and Haku should join with the Konoha ninjas. They could use some strong nins like you, I'm sure their Hokage wouldn't mind."

At this Kakashi interrupted; "That may be, but why are you sending them to Konoha instead of bringing them back to your own village? And why help us in the first place?"

Hitoshi grinned. "Simple, for the first one, they don't possess the requirement for entering Kagegakure, they would never make it past the front gates, and if they did they would have to have a constant escort if they didn't want to be forced out by the hidden chakra that exists there. And for your second question, I felt like it." He began walking to the side of the bridge but stopped. "I have a feeling that we all may yet meet again. One among you has the potential to enter my village unaided." And with that he disappeared, and a true snow began.

Zabuza looked at Haku; "What do you think, should we do as he said?"

Haku smiled. "It would be nice not to have to run anymore."

Zabuza nodded; "Then it's decided. We will go with you to Konoha, if that's alright with you."

Kakashi nodded absently. What that nin had said worried him a little. Not to mention that he had emitted a chakra signature very similar to the Kyuubi's. He had also said that one of them had the potential to come to his village by himself. If what he was thinking was correct, that was Naruto and the reason was Kyuubi. He would have to be cautious in the future. When he got back to Konoha he would inform the Hokage personally about this.

Sasuke looked at where Hitoshi had disappeared. 'So strong. I must find his village and become stronger so that I can kill my brother. He said that one of us could enter. He must have meant me, I'm the only one strong enough.' Sakura was thinking along the same lines while the Naruto clone was inwardly snickering at their foolishness.

Several days later the bridge was finished and the Konoha/ex-mist nins were preparing to leave. Naruto's clone was once again sealed within he and he had redonned his mask of stupidity. ((but how long will that last?))

Team 7 stood at the end of the bridge saying their farewells to Inari and his family. Tazuna spoke; "Thanks to you that Kage nin we were able to complete this bridge. This is super sad."

Kakashi thanked them and Naruto told them that they would come visit sometime. When Inari looked as if he were about to cry Naruto pulled him off to the side.

"Its Ok to cry when you're happy you know. And you have all the reason in the world to be happy. My friend saw what you did and said that he would revive your father for you."

Inari smiled and yelled. "I wasn't about to cry, but you can. Thank you and your friend for this, but I don't need my father here anymore. Sure I'll miss him, but I'm sure he's in a better place and it would be selfish of me to bring him back. I have a family here to take care of and that's all that matters."

Naruto nodded. "That's what I wanted to hear. You truly are worthy of it." he ruffled the boy's hair. "You will be a great leader for this place, Inari. I'm sure of it."

Naruto re-joined his team as Inari went to his family. After a few more words all of the ninjas departed for Konoha. A small tear could be seen slipping down Naruto's cheek.

Tazuna gazed after the retreating shinobi. "That boy changed Inari's heart, and the ninjas saved us all. Especially the one from the Shadow. They gave us a bridge to strength, hope, and courage. Wait a moment!" the turned to his family and was a little surprised to find every villager there with them. "This bridge still needs a name! what should we call it?" he asked. Several answers came forward, including: "The Great Naruto Bridge," before Tazuna came up with the perfect name.

"From this day forward, this bridge shall be known as: The Great Shadow Leaf Bridge!" every person there cheered for them name. They all liked it. "One day this will be a super famous bridge whose name will be known through out the world."

Moments later a shout of "The Great Shadow Leaf Bridge!" could be heard for miles around.

A certain group of Ninjas smiled when they heard the noise. It was a good name indeed.

((Stop here? I could, but I'll give you a little more. Hehehe)) ((-/ your author is completely insane))

Half way to Konoha the group stopped for camp. Sasuke stalked off to the edge of camp wanting nothing more than to be alone. But sadly ((depending on who you are)) he would not get it. A certain pink leech had attached herself to his arm and was chattering his ears off.

Naruto left, offering to get firewood. No one said anything so he went anyway. Deep inside the woods he pulled out a large blank scroll. This would soon become the summoning contract for the kitsune. But this would not be a normal summoning contract. Before the person could sign it he or she would have to have met him and been given permission to sign it. Then if that person wanted to summon one of his foxes and it didn't like that person or want to come, the fox wouldn't have to. He also put in the option for if the situation was too difficult for the kitsune summoned, it could return to where it had came from. The only way a person would be allowed to summon any of his kitsune was if they befriended the kitsune. That ruled out most of Konoha, and there was only one person there that he would even consider letting sign his contract.

Naruto sat down in front of the scroll and bit his thumb drawing blood. He then began inking in the terms and conditions of the contract as well as all structured that went into summoning. When he had finished he made some places for the future summoners to sign before rolling it up and placing it in his other-space den.

Up in the trees Sasuke watched the whole process. He had become curious as to what was taking the dobe so long. Whatever it was had to be a thousand times better than being killed slowly by a pink haired kunoichi. He had watched at Naruto began drawing on a scroll that was as large as the scroll of seals. This was interesting, but what was the purpose of the scroll. He knew nothing about summoning contracts and he was about to jump down and ask when Naruto opened a black hole in the air and shoved the scroll in. the dobe was hiding something, he was sure of it. He would keep all of this to himself for use later. Maybe one day Naruto would become a good sparing partner so that he could become stronger himself. 'Itachi, your days are numbered.'

He turned back to camp, putting up a silencing jutsu around his ears. He had come up with that one himself a while ago, but it took some time to set up and was pretty obvious what he intended it to do. Not to mention the concentration it took. Simply put, he couldn't do it around Sakura.

Naruto followed soon after with a bundle of firewood. If one looked closely at the ends they would have found claw marks, but no one did.

A.N: The clues keep stacking up. How long will it be until someone finds out who he really is? Who is the person that will be the first Kitsune Summoner? And what is behind the sealed door? Only your author knows. So stay tuned to find the answers in the next chapter of _Henzuru_.

B.N: Wow this is the first Beta Notes in this fic so far, I usually don't do this but I've got something to say. First of all I noticed a few chapters back that someone complained about the Demon Lord Jutsus lacking in power… well I guess that was corrected later neh? Anyway remember that when Naruto learned the jutsus he put the lowest possible amount of chakra in them. I think our esteemed author already covered this but as their creator I felt like going on a small rant. Second I want you all to know that if you got any questions regarding the fic I'm available for questioning… as long as the questions are sensible… and NO FLAMES! I flush those down the drain. Thirdly the possible future Kitsune summoner… hehehe I know something that you don't know. The first reviewer that guesses the correct person will receive a cookie and… something else. Please keep in mind that it can be ANYONE and that you must explain your reasoning behind your choice. Good luck readers.


	11. Chuunin Exams Once More

-1Disclaimer: Kore wa watashi no zyanaidesu. NOT MINE!

A.N: Last chapter as for Naruto not noticing Sasuke... I was half asleep when I wrote that part so forgive me, and thanks for pointing it out. The reason is because making the contract takes a lot of chakra ((even by a demon/god's standards)) and concentration. Even Sakura could have walked in on it. Naruto forgot to set the barriers. Seems his personality hasn't completely changed.

And congratulations to _Intelligo_ for being the first to guess the new summoner.

Part 11

Panic at Forest 47

Team 7 ((plus two)) arrived in Konoha a few days later. Upon arriving the guards glared at Naruto, who in turn arranged for their plumbing systems at home to malfunction or explode. ((he gave his element the choice)) Zabuza noticed this and decided to pull the boy aside to question him about it.

"I saw you notice that man glaring at you. Why do you allow them to do it? And why do they do it in the first place?" he asked.

Naruto smirked; "They've done it for as long as I can remember, you get used to it after a while. As for why they do it, that's classified. But why do I allow it?" he snickered to himself. "It will just cause them more bad luck in the future." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "You and Haku don't have any place to stay do you? Why don't you stay at one of my places? Meet me later at the abandoned apartment complex. Form there I'll take you to where we'll be staying. No one but me and those in my company are able to get there." Zabuza agreed and walked back to join the group.

From there they continued on to the Hokage tower. Haku was the only one to notice the agitated stirring of the moisture in the air, him having it as part of his bloodline. He saw it move around the blond protectively; ready to lash out at anything that could harm the boy. Haku had since decided that nothing would surprise him about this boy. He would even believe him if he told him that he was a god.

They quickly made it to the Hokage office where Kakashi proceeded to give the mission report to the village leader. When he was done, Kakashi dismissed Sasuke and Sakura, but held Naruto back. The grey hair jounin turned back to the Hokage; "During the mission, it seems that Naruto here had unlocked some sort of Bloodline limit." Looking at Naruto; "I believe you called it Alchem, am I right?"

Naruto nodded happily. "Yep. The Alchem bloodline."

"And what does it do?" Sarutobi asked curiously. Naruto was very important to him, but his life was hard. He would have done more for the boy, but the counsel kept him from helping him. The only thing he held over their heads in this matter was The Contract that both he and the Yondaime had signed before the Kyuubi's defeat. Leting out a small sigh Sarutobi returned his mind to the matters at hand, memories from the past held no place in conversations like these.

Naruto grinned broadly. "I can make stuff."

Sarutobi raised an eyebrow. "You can make stuff. Care to demonstrate?"

The blond haired boy reached into his pack and pulled out bottles and containers of various materials. He placed them on the floor and clapped his hands. There was a flash of light and in their place were several kunai. "See, I can make things."

Sarutobi smiled. 'This will be very helpful to him. If I remember correctly, the shopkeepers charge him triple prices and give him the worst of their stock. Now that he can make the things he needs himself he wont have to worry about that anymore.' "Congratulations Naruto on unlocking your Bloodline. Come see me later and we'll see what else we can do." He smiled kindly. "You're dismissed."

Naruto jumped up and down excitedly. "Ok Jiji, but you'd better be there." And he ran out the door, heading toward where his den seal used to be. 'I wonder if it's still there, and if it is if anything happened to the tree.' Once he was out of sight he disappeared into the shadows with a whispered; "Kage Hada no Jutsu."

Back in the Hokage's office, Sarutobi was questioning Kakashi on the stranger who had helped on their mission. "You say this person just showed up during your fight with Zabuza. You didn't sense him at all?" when Kakashi shook his head no, Sarutobi sighed. "So, there is a new country hidden in the shadows." He paused. "About how strong would you say this Kage-nin, Hitoshirenu Itazura, was?" The Sandaime contemplated the strangers name. 'Hidden Mischief… sounds like someone I know.' Thought Sarutobi, the image of a smirking Naruto in his head.

He was brought from his thoughts when Kakashi replied; "He said that he was one of their Sannin, but he was at least kage level, sir."

The Hokage nodded. "That makes sense. There is an old legend, one I'm sure you've never heard because it is an S Class secret, that tells of a hidden village that could take on all other villages, and win. It was said that these shinobi wore a pitch-black hitai-ate with the mark of shadows on them. It was the Village Hidden in Shadows. And it seems that they have re-emerged." He paused once more. "I wonder if it has anything to do with that." He mumbled, but Kakashi heard it anyway.

"Anything to do with what, Hokage-sama?"

"Huh, Oh, just something that happened a few days after you left. This was going to be your next mission any way. A few days ago, something happened in one of the forests surrounding Konoha. The trees seemed to come alive and tossed everyone that was in it out. Then the trees on the perimeter grew together making a wall with what looked like gates every twenty meters. Everyone who has tried to scale the wall has been stopped and tossed back out. I want you to see if you can find anything out about what happened, but don't let anyone know what we have talked about."

Kakashi nodded before leaving to go read his book. Whatever happened at the forest could wait. It wasn't going anywhere.

Naruto stood in the center of Forest 47 where his den's anchor was located. He looked around and whistled. "Whatever I thought would happen, this wasn't it." the whole area was filled with various trees and flowers, yet a fog seemed to flow along the ground. Sunlight lit the paths to the tree in the center, which had grown to be forty times as big as all the others. His seal still showed through the bark, fresh as the day it was made. It seemed like all of the other trees where part of the master tree. "Niiice." He said before opening the gate to his den. He would leave it open for now because no one would be able to get past the guardian trees that formed the walls. "Now, time to get Zabuza and Haku settled in. Maybe I should set them up their own small worlds. I could preset them to look like houses inside. Yeah, that will be good."

He quickly made the seals on two different trees on either side of the master tree. He only put enough energy in them to create a nice house on the inside of each of them that the residents could change to fit them. Because the power used was much reduced, the trees only grew a little bit to set them apart form the others. "Yep. They'll like these. Better than having them in my won den at least. Who knows what kind of trouble they could cause in there."

He walked back to one of the shadows and melted into darkness once more to reappear again in front of his old apartment. He saw both Zabuza and Haku waiting for him. "Hey guys, I just finished setting up your houses."

Zabuza showed not outward emotion, but on the inside he was amazed. They each got their own house!

Haku just took it in stride. As he said; no more being surprised.

Naruto laughed nervously; "Um, something happened around my home while I was away, so the only way to get there is though my Kage Hada. I hope you don't mind." When they nodded, he took hold of both of them and they were sucked back into the shadows.

Unknown to them, the Hokage had seen it all through his crystal ball. Naruto would have noticed had he been looking for it, but he never expected to be spied on by the Hokage.

"Interesting, I wonder what else you learned while you were away." He smiled lovingly at the image of the boy. "Don't worry, you're secrets safe with me, Juubi."

Flashback

Sarutobi was sitting at his desk, fighting the dreaded paper work, and seemed to be loosing. 'Why did I ever take this job?' he wondered for the thousandth time that day.

His head snapped up from the paper he was signing as he felt a chakra surge at the other side of his office. The henge he had placed over The Contract disappeared as three chakras surrounded it. The scroll pulled off the wall and opened, hovering in the middle of the room. Beyond all of the ancient script, five names were signed: Kazama Arashi ((Yondaime)), Sarutobi ((Sandaime)), Uzumaki Naruto, and lastly, Kazan ((God of Fire)), and the Shinigami. This was the contract that allowed the Kyuubi to be sealed. Arashi and Shinigami were there because they were the ones doing the sealing, Sarutobi was there because he would become the Hokage once more and would need to look after Naruto, Naruto was there because the Kyuubi would be sealed inside him, and Kazan was there because it was his country and anything major needed his blessing to work, plus he was there for a reason of his own, but no one knew what that was.

Sarutobi watched intently, this could only mean that one or both of the gods were changing some part of the agreement. He gasped when Naruto's name was blotted out and replaced with the name: Juubi no Kitsune. He did not know what that meant. It could either be good or bad, he would have to wait and see if Team 7 came back alive. If they did, they may have a new powerful ally, if not, they had made a deadly enemy.

End Flashback

He knew that Naruto was now far stronger than he seemed to be. Naruto did not seem to mean them any harm, so he would do nothing and hope that none of the villagers would do anything stupid. If they did, he would side with Naruto, who he secretly considered as a grandson. ((-/ Yay! Konohamaru has a brother! Snickers.))

'Now, to cancel Kakashi's mission and get the deed for that area to Naruto. After all, it won't be doing anyone else much good.' He thought for another second; 'and it seems we've found our Shadow-nin as well.'

_A.N: Sarutobi doesn't know anything about the Shadow except for the legend. He doesn't know where it is, what its like, whose in it, or really how powerful they are. He doesn't even know if they have the same rank system. And most importantly, he doesn't know what they are. END A.N._

Naruto stepped out of the shadows with two very disoriented ex-mist nin behind him.

Zabuza leaned over into the brush and had a meeting with his breakfast. When he was through he yelled; "What the hell was that?"

Even Haku looked a bit green; "Naruto-kun, as much as I respect you for sparing Zabuza and I, I will hate you for the rest of my life if you make us go through that again."

Naruto looked a bit uneasy. "Sorry, I didn't think that it would affect you like that. I'll have to arrange for the guardians to let the two of you in, but you'll have to make sure no one is watching when you come and go."

They both nodded and Zabuza asked; "So, where are the houses?"

Naruto pointed to two of the larger trees ((the ones he had made for this purpose)) and two gates opened, showing the inside of two houses within. "There they are. Now, these are very special houses. You may change them in whatever way you want, within reason of course. They will adapt themselves to your personality, becoming exactly like your dream home. You can pick which ever one you want." He then pointed to the largest tree in the forest and the gate that had already been opened. "That one is mine. Only enter it if there is an emergency, otherwise, tell one of the forest animals what you need and they will tell me." Seeing their expressions he explained; "The animals of this forest are very intelligent, sometimes more so than humans. And don't worry about them attacking you, they will leave you alone so long as you don't attack them, or me. It might even be a good idea to befriend them, but I'll leave that up to you. Now, I have to go see the Hokage about my 'Bloodline.' On my way out I'll talk to the Guardians so you can move about as you wish. And I believe you also have a meeting with the old man later. Have fun." He closed the door to his den and disappeared in a swirl of mist.

For the next few hours, he and the Hokage talked about his "Bloodline" and its possible uses. Together they made a few sets of armour and weapons that Naruto gave to Sarutobi. The armour looked like old samurai armour without the facemask, but it was stronger than steel and light as a feather. Lines of gold ran through the dark coloured metal forming designs that gave the armour additional protective properties, such as resistance to having one's own chakra used against them.

Naruto left when it began to get dark with the Hokage's thanks.

The next morning, Naruto woke early so that he could get out of the forest without being noticed as easily. 'What to do today? Should I show up for the team meeting or send him instead. Wait… isn't Kakashi going to sign us up for the exams soon? Ugh, not again. Well, third times the charm so I guess I'll go, and then there's Gaara. I wonder what I can do about that.' A wall of water surged around him as he disappeared, heading for the bridge where Team 7 was to meet.

No one there noticed the water below the bridge whirlpool and Naruto rise up from the middle of it. He jumped up on the bridge only to be hit by Sakura for being late. "Whatever." He mumbled; "It's not like sensei will be here any time soon." He quickly plugged his ears with a silence jutsu just in time to avoid having his ears damaged by a pink haired banshee.

The rest of the day was spent doing worthless D-Rank missions, such as weeding a garden, picking up groceries, and finding the stupid cat. The last of which no longer fought against Naruto, being far too scared of the Ten Tails demon that now held it to try to hurt him.

During all of this their teamwork steadily decreased, Sasuke was being Sasuke, Sakura was fawning over him, Kakashi was reading his book, and Naruto was ignoring them all. When they were finally done, they all tried to go their separate ways, the exception being Sakura following Sasuke, asking if he wanted to practice with her.

Finally the raven haired Uchiha got fed up and rounded on her; "You're the same as Naruto. If you have time to bother me, go practice a technique or two." He paused for a second as Inner Sakura was being weighed down by a boulder. "Actually… you're below Naruto." The bolder just doubled in size, crushing her.

Unknown to the two of them, Naruto was sitting in a tree watching all of this. 'Hmpf, actually, both of you are below me.' he jumped down and started down the road.

He sighed. 'Hello Konohamaru.' He thought as he saw a box painted to look like a rock, but it was still a box with two eyeholes in it. He continued on with the box following him. He walked by a water pipe and made it explode, knocking the box away. He turned around; "Next time you might want to actually make your disguise look like a rock instead of a box."

Konohamaru and his two friends stood before him. "That was awesome bro! That's exactly what I expect from my rival. How did you do it any way?"

Naruto looked them over, ignoring the fact that they were trying to imitate him by all wearing goggles on their foreheads. "Just something that I learned while I was away." He stretched; "So, what do ya want?"

Moegi smiled up at him. "Are you free today?"

"Ahhhh… nope. I have to check up on Zabuza and Haku."

The Konohamaru Corp. all shouted; "What! But you said you'd play ninja with us today!"

"Oh, yeah, that's right."

Sakura picked that moment to make her presence known, she was leaking killing intent, but it was so weak that even Konohamaru barely noticed it. "Why would a ninja "play Ninja?" she asked with a scary look on her face. 'I'm below him?'

"Hey bro, who's she?" Konohamaru asked looking up at his boss. "Oh! Not bad…" Naruto looked down at him questioningly. "She's your." He held out his pinky. ((Girlfriend))

A vein popped out on Sakura's forehead as she hit both of them on the head.

Naruto fell over as Konohamaru yelled; "How dare you, you ugly hag!"

Naruto sat up quickly; 'This isn't good.' "Run Konohamaru!" he said as he backed away from Sakura who had little flames in her eyes. By this time Udon and Moegi had already disappeared leaving Konohamaru and Naruto to face their doom.

Sakura cracked her knuckles before giving chase to Konohamaru who was running and had just passed Naruto who was running as well. "When I catch you your both dead!" she yelled.

Far away, Kakashi was standing in front of Iruka, handing in his mission reports. "So, is Naruto doing well with his comrades?" asked Iruka.

The jounin sweat dropped; "Um, he's doing fine…"

Iruka sighed in relief. "That's good. I've been busy lately and haven't been able to check up on him, and I've been worried."

"Well you know he's with Uchiha Sasuke, they see each other as rivals." 'Though it doesn't seem like Naruto does anymore. I sense that he is looking down at him from a level far beyond Sasuke. But that cant be, Sasuke is so much better that he is. Oh well, another thing to think on later.' "They argue a lot, but they are both improving greatly. Soon they will surpass you."

Iruka smiled. "Is that so?"

Back with Konohamaru and co. they were still running away from a mad cherry blossom when Konohamaru ran into… a cat man! Oh wait, that's only Kankurou. ((Couldn't resist)) Upon impact, Konohamaru fell back to see two people. The male was wearing a baggy black costume and a hat with what looked like cat ears made of cloth. He had his face painted white with red triangles on both cheeks, chin and forehead, all pointing towards the center of his face. And he had something on his back, wrapped in bandages. He wore his hitai-ate on his forehead. The girl had on fishnet armour under her jacket, and her hair was done up in four pigtails. She had a giant fan strapped to her back and wore her hitai-ate around her neck.

"Hey, watch where you're going you little brat." Said the boy as he picked Konohamaru up by his shirt. "That hurt you little piece of shit!"

"Don't." said the girl; "Well get yelled at later."

Upon seeing what was happening Sakura ran away like the little girl that she was.

Naruto looked at her fleeing form. "Pathetic." He turned back Kankurou. "I'd put him down if I were you."

Kankurou looked at Naruto's hitai-ate. 'A leaf genin hmm.' "Let's play a little before boss gets here." He twitched his fingers sending chakra strings out to grab a hold of Naruto.

The blond ((sennin)) smirked as he avoided the strings with ease. "Tricks like that don't work if your opponent knows them."

"We'll see." was his only response. Kankurou was about to attack when a rock struck his hand making him drop Konohamaru who was instantly by Naruto's side.

Sasuke was sitting in a tree throwing a stone up and down. "What are you bastards doing in our village?"

At that moment a meeting was being held in the Hokage's office. "As you know, the Chuunin Exams will be held in one week." Said Sarutobi to all of the Konoha Jounin before him. "This meeting was called to decide which Genin teams will be attending. First well hear from those watching over the Rookie Genin." He motioned Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai forward. "Well? Are there any genin that you would like to enter this Chuunin Exam?"

Kakashi stepped forward. "Under the name of Hatake Kakashi, I nominate Team 7: Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Haruno Sakura, to take the Chuunin Exam."

Iruka's eyes widened in surprise.

Then Kurenai; "Under the name of Yuuhi Kurenai, I nominate Team 8: Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino, for the Exam."

"Sarutobi Asuma, Team 10: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji, the same"

The Hokage thought on this. "How rare for all of them…"

He was interrupted by Iruka. "Hold on a second! I may be out of place, but all of them were my students at the academy. They are all talented, but this is too early for them." He reasoned. "They need more experience."

"I became a Chuunin when I was six years younger than Naruto." Said Kakashi.

"Naruto is different!" yelled Iruka. "Are you trying to crush them? The Exam is…"

"Crushing them would be fun, but they are always complaining about their missions. This will be a good experience for them. Besides, it seems that Naruto has unlocked a bloodline and I want to see what it can do."

All present gasped, save for Sarutobi who already knew. The thought that ran through all their heads was; 'The Kyuubi brat has a bloodline.' Iruka was the exception with; 'How come I wasn't told?'

Iruka was about to protest once more when Kakashi cut him off. "Stay out of this. They are no longer your students. They are my shinobi."

The Hokage smirked. "I agree with Kakashi. They are all ready for the Exam, especially Naruto. He is far stronger than even you, Kakashi, know. He has shown me what his bloodline can do, and I am confident that they will make it. And no, I wont tell you what it does, you will have to wait and see."

Kankurou glared up at Sasuke; "Another one who pisses me off."

Sasuke only smirked. "Get lost."

"Punk! Get down here." He began unwrapping the object on his back. "Show offs like the two of you annoy me the most."

Temari put a hand on his shoulder and whispered; "You're going to use Karasu?"

He shrugged he off and would have continued had a chilling voice not stopped him. "Kankurou, stop it. You're an embarrassment to our village."

Everyone but Naruto looked up to see a red haired kid with a gourd on his back standing upside down from a tree. Naruto shot a glance up before returning to Konohamaru.

Kankurou sweat dropped nervously. "Ga… Gaara…" he got out while thinking; 'I hope he doesn't kill me.'

Sasuke on the other hand was stunned. 'When did he… that stealth level, its on par with Kakashi-sensei's.'

"Losing yourself in a fight. Pathetic. Why do you think we came here?" questioned the red head.

Kankurou stammered; "But they started it, and…"

"Shut up, or I'll kill you." Everyone gathered shuddered except for Naruto, and Gaara was the only one to notice. His eyes narrowed. 'He's not like the rest of these fools. And the other one, to be able to hit Kankurou with a stone, he must be good.' He smirked inwardly. 'They will be fun to kill.' "Sorry to you guys." He said in an emotionless voice before a swirl of sand enveloped him.

Sasuke had been watching him intently, recognizing him as the leader of the Sand Team. He was surprised, though, when the sand surrounded the boy and he disappeared in it.

The sand rose up again between the other two Sand-nin, leaving Gaara in its place. "It seems we arrived a little early, but we didn't come to play around." He glared at Temari and Kankurou. "Let's go."

Sasuke jumped down, blocking his path. Behind him, Naruto could be heard mumbling; "Foolish. Stupid Uchiha will get himself killed like that." He continued to rant to himself on Sasuke's stupidity, who in turn just ignored him, like always.

"Wait. What are Sand-nins doing in Konoha?" Sasuke demanded. "Sand and Leaf may be allies, but its forbidden to enter another hidden village without permission." He got in a defensive stance; "State your purpose and I may let you go."

The Sand shinobi and Naruto rolled their eyes as if Sasuke were the biggest idiot on earth. It was Temari who answered him. "These Leaf-nin are completely clueless. Don't you know anything." She held out a pass. "Were here for the Chuunin Exam. Didn't you know that your village was hosting this year?"

Sasuke glared at her, before looking at Gaara. "What's your name?"

Temari blushed. "You mean me?"

Barely suppressing a snarl of disgust answering Sasuke started to become annoyed 'Another pathetic fan girl.' ((Pun)) "No, you with the gourd."

Gaara turned his eyes from Naruto. Shukaku was being surprisingly quiet, matter of fact, if he didn't know better; he would say that the tanuki was scared. "Gaara of the Desert." He said glancing at him before looking back at the indifferent Naruto who was standing beside Sasuke. "I am also interested in your name."

Sasuke spoke thinking no one could be interested in the dobe beside him. "Its Uchiha Sasuke." He smirked.

Gaara focuses his killing intent on the blond. "And you?"

Naruto moved forward passing him. "You'll find out soon enough, crazy raccoon." He didn't stop and kept going.

Gaara's eyes widened before narrowing as his sand shot forward to attack the retreating blond. He was shocked once more as his sand stopped just short of its target and refused to move.

Naruto laughed; "Your nine short to be doing that, Ichibi." He whispered, but Gaara heard him nonetheless.

He turned to his team; "Lets go." He disappeared in a swirl of sand, leaving the two to catch up with him. When they were out of range Gaara turned to Temari and Kankurou; "Be careful around that boy."

"Which one?" asked Temari.

Gaara glared; "The blond one, he puts Mother on edge." He grinned, his blood thirst evident; "His blood is mine."

Sasuke walked away after the Sand team had left. 'This is getting interesting.' Suddenly a loud; "Sasuke-kun!" came form the other side of the alley. He panicked for a second; "Shit! Fan Girls!" before he burst into a full out run. From around the corner came a crowd of the village's girls, young and old alike, ((eeewwww)) all yelling for their Sasuke-kun.

Naruto jumped up into a tree smiling wickedly. 'Just what you deserve, teme.' Just then he felt a presence above him. He looked up to find that the Sound team had been watching the whole thing. 'Damn.' He thought. 'Shukaku's chakra must have masked theirs. Crap!' he moved to fight them, but they vanished in a cloud of smoke just before he got there. Naruto growled; "That snake better be ready this time."

Just before Naruto found them, the Sound-nins intently watched what was going on below them.

They all wore white camo pants and sandals that went up to just below their knees. One of them wore a baggy shirt with a big furry thing attached to the back. His face was concealed by bandages that only left his left eye visible. The girl wore a Chuunin style vest and had long black hair that went just past her shoulder blades. The last member had on a tunic with an unknown kanji ((if anyone knows what it is, please tell me so that I can change this)) above and below his belt. His forehead protector had armour pieces that came down on both sides of his face along his jaw line. His hair looked a little like Kakashi's would if he had black hair.

"So, what do you think?" asked one.

"Nothing serious, but…" he shivered, "That black haired leaf seems to be the weakest of them all. The blond leaf and the sand with the gourd… let's keep an eye on them." He saw Naruto look up at them. "Let's go." And they vanished.

Team Youth ((twitch)) was out training deep in the woods when Gai's clone brought up something interesting.

"Hey, did you guys hear? They're letting rookies in this year's Chuunin Exam."

"No way. It's probably some stupid jounin in a competition or something." Said Tenten.

"No." said their bowl haired, caterpillar eye browed sensei. "The story is that three of them the students of Hatake Kakashi."

Neji remained sitting; "Sounds interesting, but…" he whipped out a kunai and threw it, hitting one of the practice dummies right between the legs. "in the end, you have to feel sorry for them."

The next day, Naruto was the first to arrive at the bridge. He yawned in boredom. 'Still no one's here.' He scowled making the water under the bridge spike and freeze. The temperature in the area dropped several degrees. 'They had better hurry up, or I wont be responsible for a suddenly missing Team 7.' He grinned devilishly. 'Then again, I might do it anyway.' Off in the distance he saw two figures approaching, quickly before they could see him he clapped his hands together and slammed them into the wooden bridge. "That'll teach 'em." He muttered.

Minutes later the two remaining genin arrived at the bridge. Sasuke ignored Naruto and continued to ignore Sakura who had been following him everywhere. Sakura herself looked like she had just got out of bed three minutes ago. 'Probably saw Sasuke and dashed.' Thought Naruto who just sat down with out a word and entered his mind to have a talk with Tsunami about some ideas for new Suiton techniques, if he should allow the human rats to use them, and about that one sealed door that still refused to open. 'Funny,' he thought, 'that that door would not even open for a god.' His musings where interrupted by a poof at the far side of the bridge. He smirked. 'Three, two…'

"Morning. You see, there was this old lady with a cat and…"

Sakura was about to interrupt what a: "You're late!" when a groan from the bridge stopped them both.

Two genin suddenly found themselves waist deep in freezing cold water when the bridge that they had been standing on collapsed. The only reason Kakashi hadn't joined them was because he had jumped the moment he had heard the sound. Naruto however was a different matter. He remained sitting where he had been, the wood beneath him being held up by several columns of ice. He just looked at them like they were crazy.

As soon as everyone was out and dry, Kakashi pulled out three slips of paper. "I know this is kind of sudden, but I've nominated all of you for the Chuunin Exam." He said holding them out. "Here are the applications." Sakura and Sasuke glared at him, while Naruto rolled his eyes. "This is just a nomination." He explained; "Whether you decide to take it or not is up to each of you. Your decision won't affect your teammates at all. If you want to take it, show up at Academy Room 301 tomorrow by 4P.M. That's all." He jumped up and vanished.

Naruto jumped up from his place on top of the ice column. 'Idiots, never even noticed the ice. Fools are so set into thinking that I'm a dead last that they don't even notice something right under their noses. I wonder if that means that I can lessen my limiter a little bit?' he saw that the other two were already walking away so he saw no reason to hide how he was leaving and summoned an ice mirror. Seconds later he was gone, leaving only a few chunks of broken ice to float down the river.

Sasuke smirked. 'I might be able to fight him.' the image of the red haired sand-nin in his mind. "Whatever."

Sakura looked at Sasuke before turning around to ask Naruto what he thought. He had been strangely quiet lately, not even asking her out on a date. When she looked back, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. She sighed, 'Now even Naruto is ignoring me. I don't want to do this… but I have to keep up with Sasuke-kun and Naruto. Maybe then they will start paying attention to me. Wait, why do I care that Naruto quite bothering me? Now I can concentrate more on Sasuke! But, I still wish that Naruto would go back to normal, he's been different ever since that mission.' She hung her head and continued home.

((A.N: I'll only be doing Naruto's test, as the others are the same as in the anime.))

Naruto emerged from the mirror on the other side of Konoha where Konohamaru and his gang were waiting for him.

"Hey Bro! Let's play!" yelled Konohamaru as he Udon and Moegi ran to meet him. Just before they got there a rain-nin appeared behind Moegi, grabbed her, and jumped to the top of a pole. The whole time Moegi was yelling for them to save her.

Naruto glared up at the man. "Let her go." The man smirked before dashing off. Naruto turned to Konohamaru and Udon; "Stay here, I'll get Moegi back. And no arguing." He said sensing what Konohamaru was going to say.

Konohamaru nodded as Naruto dashed off; "You go Leader!"

As soon as he was out of sight, Naruto picked up speed, quickly catching up to the fleeing figure.

The rain-nin looked back and was surprised to see Naruto catching up so quickly. 'Wow, I'm surprised that he can keep up, let alone be gaining on me.' he thought. He stopped and quickly tied Moegi to a tree and gagged her. "Konoha, what a joke. The Chuunin exams made the perfect opportunity…"

He was cut off by Naruto who had landed behind him, a few yards off. "I won't say it again. Let her go."

The kidnapper turned around. "That was fast. Tell you what, you get me the Scroll of Seals, and I will let her go." He placed a kunai at her throat; "If you don't, she will die."

Naruto appeared to be thinking it over, but he was really transporting Moegi away using a custom Kage Hada. "How about no." he said when he was sure that she was back with Konohamaru.

The nin's eyes widened slightly; "Don't you care what happens to this kid?"

Naruto smirked; "What kid?" he focused chakra in his eyes and whispered; "Onimetsuki." He then glared at the nin. "You have threatened my friends, and now you will pay… Iruka-sensei."

The nin froze before smiling and dropping his henge. "So you figured it out, but how?"

Naruto tapped the side of his eye. "My eyes are much like the sharingan, they can see through any genjutsu. It is the bloodline that I unlocked during my last mission."

Iruka smiled; "Good for you. If you didn't know, you have just past the entrance round for the Chuunin Exam. You are now free to enter. You should know that the real Chuunin Exam is much harder, and you will be put in situations much like the one you just faced. By the way, how did you get Moegi? It wasn't a kawarimi or bunshin."

"I guess I can tell you. After all, you _are_ one of the few people in this village who actually care about me."

Iruka frowned at that; 'Is that really true?

"It's a jutsu I learned a while ago. The jutsu is very similar to the Nara Clan's bloodline of manipulating shadows. It allows me, or those I choose, to walk through shadows as if they were roads, thus the name Kage Hada: Shadow Body."

"Sounds like a useful jutsu, mind teaching it to me some time?"

"Sure, maybe after the Exam. See you then sensei!" with that Naruto disappeared into the shadows.

Iruka just stared after. "You really are growing strong Naruto. I wouldn't be surprised if you really did achieve your dream." Iruka disappeared as well, heading toward the next nominee for the Exam.

Later that night, Iruka met up with Kakashi on the roof of a building. "So much for that, all nine of them passed. Just like you said, their abilities have really improved. Especially Naruto."

Kakashi looked up at him; "What did he do?"

Iruka smiled; "He saw through my illusion as well as removed the child without my knowledge. He used a jutsu similar to the Nara's to teleport Moegi elsewhere before calling me by name."

Kakashi nodded, even though he had not been expecting that. Naruto really was getting stronger, but where was he learning these things. Certainly not from him. "Ah, but was it enough for the real Chuunin Exam?"

Once again, Naruto was the first to arrive at the Academy. This time, however, he surprised several genin from other villages when one of the shadows warped and rose up before bursting revealing a genin clad in all blue.

Ever since he had gained his Mizukami status all of his cloths had transformed into a blue cloth that perfectly mimicked the look, feel, movement, and flow of water. Here and there, strands of red or brown could be seen forming different patterns. The red was concentrated on his shoulders as little flame designs that shimmered as he moved. A brown belt of jagged mountains circled his waist serving as a foundation. It increased his defense and helped him keep his balance no matter what happened, the world could turn upside-down and he'd be fine. His hitai-ate had also changed. The band was completely black, except for a thin white line that ran along the edges. If one looked close enough, they would see that it was actually thousands of tiny kanji that repeated "Left Hand of Death" over and over again. The metal plate that held the symbol of the leaf had also changed. It was still silver in colour, but it reflected no light, and along the spiral of the leaf were the kanji for demon, god, water, fire, earth, darkness, and death.

((-/ change that and die))

Around his team he had used a henge, but he decided to drop it for the exam. He really did hate orange.

He stepped out of the shadows and glared at the people that were staring at him making them go back to whatever they were doing before he got there. He sighed before going to stand next to the door to wait for his team. 'Kakashi must be rubbing off on them.' He thought.

Suddenly from the other side of the building he heard three familiar voices yell; "Kit-sama!"

He turned to find two girls and a boy with Shadow Hitai-ate running towards him.

When they got to him, the boy panted out; "Kit-sama, Niko-sama said to give this to you." He reached into his hakama and pulled out a scroll with an complicated seal on it.

Naruto nodded to them before pulling them all into his den. "We can talk here without people getting suspicious." He extended a claw, cut his thumb with it, and smeared the blood on the seal. When it was gone he unrolled the scroll and read it.

_Kit,_

_Congratulations on becoming Juubi. As you are a sennin, you are free to do and go wherever you wish, but I have one request. I want you to keep an eye on these genin. They will be entering the ningen's Chuunin exam. I want you to watch them and make sure that they don't destroy the place. (that's your job if you choose) I also want you to keep the Snake-bastard away from Uchiha-teme. Good luck and have fun. _

_Niko, Onikage of Kagegakure_

_P.S. You might also get the Mist, Rain, and Waterfall villages to help Konoha, seeing as you are now the Mizukami. If they don't listen, just tell them that they will loose their Suiton Jutsus if they don't._

A.N: If you're wondering, the Shadow Village was un-affected by the time shift, so they still know about Naruto and all that had happened before the destruction of the world. Actually, it wasn't affected by it at all, with so many high ranking spirits there, they were able to place the whole village in a den of it's own before the world was destroyed.

Naruto looked up at the three Shadow Nin in front of him, "Looks like I have to keep an eye on you three. Now, I'm sure you know who I am, but I don't know you, so mind introducing yourselves?" at their smug looks he glared. 'I know that they knew about this beforehand. I just hope they don't have anything nasty planed for me. Or the ningen genin for that matter… wait, why do I care? They can do what they like so long as I don't get in trouble for it.' He pointed at the only boy; "You first."

((A.N: Profiles will be at the bottom. -/ )) ((Disclaimer on Shadow Team: Not Mine, they belong to PhiloWorm and TigerLady.))

"My name's Naosoka and I am a Neko Hanyou. I specialize in interrogation, stealth, and infiltration." He holds out a staff; "This is my partner Zugaikotsu Assaiki, my Skull Crusher."

Kit pointed to the girl sitting next to him. "You."

"Huh?" the girl looks around before pointing at herself; "Me? I'm Adhinari Suki, but you can just call me Suki. I bonded with a Thunder Apparition, so I have lots of thunder jutsu." She pulls out two scimitar; "My specialty, besides Raiton Jutsu is Kenjutsu, with these Raiken thunder blades."

"I guess that leaves me." said the last girl. "My name is Tsuyayaka Hana and my spirit is a dryad. I specialize in Plant Jutsu and Genjutsu. I don't have any special weapons because I attack from a distance."

Kit nodded, sounded like a good team, better than his at least. "Ok, now that we know each other, I have only one rule for these exams: Keep Orochimaru away from the Konoha Teams, and don't kill any one unnecessarily."

"Ummm… Jyuubi-sama?" said Nao, ((-/ the name's being shortened for my sake)) "That's two rules."

Kit's eye twitched. "Sooo…"

The three shadow genin backed up, slightly afraid of their new sensei that had begun to chuckle evilly. "That doesn't matter. What matters is that I am also taking the exam with my ningen team, and I will know if you've messes up." He grinned. "So, are you ready for this exam?" The three nodded. "Then why are you still here?" he asked. A second later he was standing by himself in his den. He sighed, "So much fun messing with them. Why am I still here?" with that he also disappeared, re-emerging from the shadows behind a tree in front of the academy.

From there he ran to meet his team who had already arrived by then. "Sorry I'm late." He panted.

Sasuke glared at him, noticing the change in clothes. 'Whatever, it's better than the orange monstrosity.' He thought.

Sakura glared at him as well for being late. "Naruto no baka!" she yelled. She as well noticed his change, but was too focused on Sasuke to pay it any mind.

Naruto grinned foxishly at them. "Well I'm here now so let's go." He said before entering the school. He looked up to the second story and saw his genin examining his team from one of the windows, not that anyone but him would have been able to notice it. He was secretly proud of them, already scouting out the enemy without them even noticing. But then again, what do you expect from Shadow-nin?

Once they were inside, they headed directly toward room 301, but when they got there they found a group of people standing there watching as a green spandex wearing boy was tossed back by two people blocking the way. The boy appeared to have many bruises covering him from many attempts to get into the exam room.

"You should all just quit now." Said one of the two blocking the exit.

A girl, apparently from the same team as the one on the ground moved forward and shyly asked; "Please, let us in." she was knocked back instantly by a kick. The crowd around them began to mumble about what was going on.

"Listen," said the one who had kicked her; "this is our kindness. The Exam isn't easy; even we failed it three times straight. Those who take this exam, most quit being shinobi, those that don't die that is." He paused. "Chuunins are the leaders of military teams. Mission failure, the death of a comrade, it all rests on the captain's shoulders. And yet, kids like you think you can pass!" he laughed. "We're just getting rid of those that will fail anyway, what's wrong with that?"

A voice came from the back of the crowd; "I agree, but you will let me through." The crowd parted to reveal the one who had spoken, Uchiha Sasuke. "Remove the genjustu you put up." Behind him, Naruto snapped his fingers, breaking the genjutsu himself. The sign that read 301 wavered and became 201. "I'm going to the third floor." Everyone around him gasped when they noticed that they had been tricked.

The one blocking the fake room smiled. "So you noticed…"

Sasuke looked at Sakura; "You must have noticed it first right?" Naruto rolled his eyes. "After all, you know the most about genjustu on this team."

Sakura blushed and nodded. "Of course I noticed a while ago, because this is the second floor."

The one blocking the door smirked. "Yeah, but all you did was see through it!" he moved to kick Sasuke in the head when a concentrated killer intent froze him in place. In his mind he saw gigantic glowing red eyes glaring at him, the eyes of the Kyuubi. If that weren't enough to stop him though, the green spandex wearing genin had gotten between him and his target, catching both his and Sasuke's kicks. He smiled when the intent disappeared. It seemed that they had some very good candidates this year.

Everyone else was amazed, was this the same kid who had been tossed back so easily earlier?

The boy walked back to his team where his white-eyed teammate glared at him. "Hey, what happened to the plan, weren't you the one who said that we should hide our strength?"

The boy glanced at Sakura and blushed. His female teammate shook her head as he walked over to Sakura and began his introduction. "Hi, my name's Rock Lee, and yours is Sakura, right?"

Sasuke gave him and his team a hard look, all of their injuries had disappeared. They must have been stronger than he thought.

Lee smiled and stuck out his thumb in the Good Guy pose as his teeth sparkled. "Let's go out together! I'll protect you until I die!" he proclaimed.

Sakura just looked at him like he was crazy. "No way, you're lame." She said before going back to idolizing Sasuke. Lee slumped dejectedly.

Sasuke meanwhile was looking at the white-eyed boy who had been staring in his direction.

Neji had been looking at them since the guard had frozen. Sure, Lee had blocked it, but he had frozen slightly before Lee got there. When it happened he had felt a flash of chakra come from behind Sasuke, where Naruto was standing. 'But wasn't he the dead last?'

Gai-sensei had told them what he knew about Kakashi's team. They had Uchiha Sasuke, the Rookie of the Year, Haruno Sakura, smartest in the class, and Uzumaki Naruto, Dead Last and generally worthless. But what he just saw made him have second thoughts, that chakra had definitely not come from Sasuke.

"Hey, it's rude to stare." Said Sasuke.

Neji grunted. "What's your name?" he said, hoping to get Naruto's attention to confirm his theory.

Sasuke though, thought Neji was talking to him because no one would want to talk to Naruto over him. "When you want to learn someone's name, you should give your own first."

Neji was slightly disappointed; Naruto gave no notice of having seen him. So instead he stared at Sasuke. "You're a rookie right? How old are you?"

Sasuke turned to leave; "I don't have to answer to you."

With that, he and his team left to the third floor.

Neji watched their retreating backs; 'I'll have to keep a close eye on both of them. Sasuke is apparently the strongest of them, but I feel like I'm missing something on Naruto.' The thought of him missing something irked him, he was a Hyuuga, and they never missed anything. Yet, he couldn't shake the feeling. 'I'll find out eventually.' He was brought from his thoughts when Lee went after Team 7.

"Where ya going Lee?" asked Tenten.

Lee looked back at them; "You guys go ahead, there's something I want to test."

Neji smirked inwardly; 'So he noticed to, or maybe he just wants to challenge Sasuke. Either way we will learn something.'

The one's blocking the doorway had disappeared. Instead they were in another room talking to each other.

"So they all passed."

"This year is going to be fun for us examiners too." They both dropped their henge. There now stood two Chuunin.

"We have some pretty strong one's this year. Both Gai's and Kakashi's prized students, as well as whoever that was with the killer intent." They both grinned; this would be fun indeed.

Lee caught Team 7 in one of the open areas leading to the Exam room. "Hey! You with the dark eyes!" he yelled.

Sasuke looked up to the balcony from which the voice had come. "What?"

Lee jumped down in front of him. "Will you fight me… right here?"

Naruto smirked, the attention was away from him and no one would notice if he was there or not. He made a few seals and whispered; "Kage Hada no Jutsu." And merged with the shadows behind him. 'I'll watch the fight from here, and interfere when it becomes necessary.'

"A fight, right now?"

Lee nodded. "Yes. My name is Rock Lee. You should introduce one's self before asking the name of another. Isn't that right… Uchiha Sasuke."

The Uchiha smirked; "So you know, yet you still want to fight me?"

"Yes, I want to test my skills against the child of the genius Uchiha clan. Plus…" he looked over at Sakura and blushed before winking at her.

The pink haired kunoichi freaked; "Eew! Those eyelashes are creepy!" she screamed again in disgust. "Hairstyle is lame, and those eyebrows" she shivered.

Lee blew her a kiss. "You're an angel!"

Sakura leaned back to avoid the kiss so fast that she hit her head on the ground. When she came ack up she was breathing hard and glared at Lee; "What do you think you are trying to do? Kill me?"

In the shadows, Naruto was rolling with laughter. Last time he hadn't appreciated it, but that was because he had liked Sakura. Now that he didn't he just found it hilarious. 'Baka Sakura, if only you knew truly how much he likes you. Already you should know that the Uchiha will never like you the way you want him to. Yet you still pursue after him, passing up all others. Your love life is truly a sad one.' But that made it all the more funny to him. 'Oh yes, the life of an apparition is good.' He watched intently to see if this would be the same fight as last time; 'Should I copy the fight, Lee does have some good moves… No, that would make me just like that Uchiha-bastard. Lee worked hard to get his moves, so I won't steal them. I will only do so with his permission.'

Sasuke glared at Lee. "You are about to learn what the name Uchiha means, thick brows." Sasuke got in his fighting position.

Lee mimicked him, going into the Iron Fist position. 'Today I will prove myself to Gai-sensei!' he thought before examining the area. He noticed that the blond haired genin had disappeared, not that it would matter during this fight. It was just interesting that he had not noticed it, or anyone else for that matter. He knew that he had been there at the beginning of the conversation. Maybe he was skilled as well. He would have to seek him out for a fight later. 'But for now, I must concentrate on the enemy before me.'

Sasuke rushed Lee hoping to make the first strike.

Lee moved to the side. 'I'm sorry sensei, but I may have to use _that_ move.' He thought as he brought his foot towards Sasuke's head. "Konoha Senpuu!"

'Damn, I can't dodge, so I'll have to block!' thought Sasuke as he brought up his arms in front of his face. The blow landed somehow getting through Sasuke's guard. He was knocked into the air, not landing for several feet. Sasuke quickly got to his feet; "Damn, he slipped through my guard. What was that? Was it ninjutsu or genjutsu?'

Lee smiled and Sasuke smirked. 'Fine then.' Sasuke thought, 'This gives me a chance to practice _it_.' he focused his chakra in his eyes. "Sharingan."

Sakura was surprised that her lover had brought out his trump. 'This guy must be good for Sasuke-kun to have to use the Sharingan.'

'Whatever this guy is doing, my Sharingan will break through it!' Sasuke looked straight at Lee, but while he was doing it he noticed an odd flicker of chakra inside one of the shadows in the room. 'Is that it? no, it's too far away, but what is it? is there another person watching this fight besides my team?' He focused back on Lee, waiting for his next move.

A second later, Lee's foot connected with his chin, knocking him into the air.

In the shadows, Naruto was getting ready to stop Lee. He made his tails reappear and changed their colour to black to match the shadows he was in.

Sasuke was stunned; 'My Sharingan can't read it! This can't be!'

Lee prepared to jump after Sasuke; "That's right, my techniques are neither ninjutsu or genjutsu." He appeared behind Sasuke. "Shadow Leaf Dance!" ((-/ Japanese if you please ((heh, I rhymed)), I don't have net at this point so…))

The shadows on the wall began to stir, shifting, bulging out in places before receding back. The only one to notice though was a single jounin that was also waiting for the right time to stop his student. 'I sense a burning flame of youth is near. One that blazes more brightly than even those of my wonderful students!'

"My techniques are simple taijutsu. You may not believe it because it is so basic but…" Lee proceeded to give an explanation of the Sharingan and how it works, ending with; "Even if you can read your opponent's movements, if your own body does not have the speed to keep up it is useless." The bandages wrapped around his arms came undone, snaking their way around Sasuke. "Did you know this? Among strong people there exist the genius types and the hardworking types. Your Sharingan is of the genius type, while I am the hardworking type who has only mastered taijutsu. You could say that good taijutsu is the worst match up against your Sharingan. And with this technique I will prove that hard work surpasses genius!"

He went to finish his technique, but two things stopped him. One, a pinwheel flew out of nowhere and pinned his bandages to the wall, and second, ten shadows burst from the wall and caught hold of him. The shadows forced him and Sasuke apart, flinging them to opposite ends of the room. Just as suddenly as the appeared they vanished, and with them, Naruto re-appeared behind Sakura, his tails hidden once more.

The Jounin noticed this. 'So he is the one with the burning passion of youth! It shines brightly even though it is hidden from his team. This must be the burning fruit of passion of which the Hokage spoke! How wonderful! Now to take care of my passionate student!'

A plume of smoke rose from the center of the room, revealing a turtle wearing a Konoha hitai-ate. "That's enough Lee!" it said.

Lee bowed his head in shame; "So you were watching…"

Sasuke got up shakily and glared at both Lee and the spot from which the shadows came. 'The power in those attacks. I must have them! I was able to copy most of Spandex-boy's attack, but the Sharingan wasn't able to see through the shadows. Was it a bloodline? No, there are no Nara's in here. I will find the one who did that and make them teach it to me! I have to defeat him.' He thought.

"Lee that technique is forbidden!" the turtle yelled.

Lee began to mumble an apology but the turtle's glare stopped him. He quickly got out; "But I wasn't going to use the other one."

"You fool! You know what it means for a shinobi to give out his special attacks! Are you prepared to pay?" Lee bowed in shame and nodded. "Then here comes Gai-sensei!" a swirl of smoke appeared on the turtles back, disappearing to reveal an older Lee, one who's eyebrows were even bigger.

"You are the springtime of youth!" the green wearing man known as Gai-sensei yelled, one hand up and the other circling his eye like a monocle.

Sasuke and Sakura both freaked at the appearance of the man. The moment he had appeared, Naruto clapped his hands together and now had one hand near the fire button on a giant laser cannon. "Green Freak in sight! Prepare to fire!" he whispered while the attention was off of him.

Gai sweat dropped when he saw the weapon before giving a thumbs up as his teeth sparkled. The cannon immediately disintegrated, the freakiness was just too much for it. Naruto cried silently over his broken toy. Gai smiled; 'Such weapons cannot stand before my flame of youth!'

((The rest is the same, at least until where…))

/BN: Why oh why must Tagge be so lazy in this chapter./

Suddenly Gai was behind them, Naruto's first reaction was to spin around and kick the green beast into orbit. He restrained himself, barely, but still ended up giving the freak a hit he would never forget. Gai was knocked back a bit, before smiling at the boy. 'The fires of youth burn bright in this one.' He then explained his rivalry with Kakashi and how he was in the lead. Afterwards he disappeared with his student in tow.

Naruto turned towards the door; "The Uchiha clan aren't worth much these days." Then lower so only Sasuke could hear him; "You saw his hands right? He must have trained hard, harder than you."

Sasuke smirked; "Then I'll just have to be better. This is getting fun. Come on, let's go."

And with that, Team 7 entered the Chuunin Exam.

A.N: Yeah, I was trying to wrap it up quick. This chapter was getting too long so I decided to cut it here. Hope you don't mind. The next update my take a while as I am working on a new story, so be looking for a new story in the near future.

The Shinigami no Scion is coming.


	12. Second Exam and the Forest of Death

Disclaimer: Not owned by Tagg! Tagg may own everything else, but not Naruto. Why won't he sell it to me?!

A.N: For the use of alchemy and not having seen the gate… I don't care! Even though there are gods in this story, I am the supreme Kami. If I want someone to die, he dies. If I want them brought back, they live. If I want him to use alchemy without the arrays, then that's exactly what he'll do! So stop telling me that it's wrong because he hasn't seen the frikkin gate!

Oh, and it seems I forgot the Shadow Team profiles. Sumimasen, here you go.

**Name: **Naosoka (no last name)

**Age:** 14 (negotiable)

**Gender:** Male

**Appearance:** fingerless gloves, loose black pants with brown stripes, hakama (is that the right word?) style shirt with same colors as pants, amber eyes, hair is tabby: dark gray with black stripes & cut fairly short & slightly spiky (not Naruto spiky, kinda Gaara spiky), has claws (retractable?) & fangs, forehead guard is tied around waist as a belt (obi?) for his shirt, staff is strapped to back, other weapons are hidden in his clothes, has a locket on a leather string (never opens it, but will occasionally hold it)

**Personality:** Basically has the personality (& appearance) of a Cheshire cat; cunning, very confusing person to be around, loves riddles, can be brutally honest or extremely vague & secretive, would not get along with Kiba's family (obviously), will eat almost anything, very relaxed person, loves to tease & confuse people (especially the enemy), is a wee bit mischievous & very sneaky,

**Description:** Could rival Shikamaru in a battle of whit's, could insult you & it would take all day to figure it out (can tell him that dogs bark & by the end of the conversation, he'll have you thinking that they moo), flexibility & grace of a cat & uses it to his advantage in battle, is fused with a (you'll never guess--) feline demon, he likes the enemy to underestimate him, was a wanderer before he moved to the Shadow village, not much is known about his past, sometimes hard to tell where his loyalties are but when his loved ones are threatened he is extremely loyal & gets very protective (this could be contributed to his past)

**Strength ((specialty)):** intelligence/interrogation, infiltration, stealth & speed

**Techniques/Battle Tactics:**

His chakra control, flexibility & balance allow for him to pull off some serious contortionist/Spiderman moves (uses long-staff for a lot of them), and his striped clothes make it hard for the enemy to judge the distance of his punches/kicks, etc. (got stripes idea from anime: Ruroni Kenshin). Also likes to provoke enemy into attacking irrationally. Moves as randomly as possible to keep enemy guessing.

Knows many basic jutsu's & several higher level ones, is good with illusion jutsu's

Summoning (you guessed it) felines

**If you can think of anything else, go ahead & add it cause I'm drawing a blank**

**Weapons:** himself, dark wooden long-staff engraved with seals that prevent it from breaking, smoke bombs, explosive tags, shuriken…

**Name: **Suki Adhinari

**Age:** 13(negotiable)

**Gender:** Female

**Appearance: **Standard shinobi outfit(you decide colors), earrings in the shape of lightning, scabbards on back, metal shingaurds/armguards are scorched to darken color, steel toed boots, icy blue eyes, brown hair in a braid,

**Personality: **a fairly easygoing person, but easily excitable on battlefield, is very loyal to team, a wee bit absent minded but not to the point that it causes problems, known for her sweet tooth, loves spending time with her team & friends, would love to get her hands on the Chidori

**Description:** Family originally came from lightning country, is bound to (guess) an electrical spirit of some sort (you decide) through her parents, became a ninja because she didn't like being cooped up in the village & because she comes from a family of ninja.

**Strength ((specialty)):** close combat, electrical techniques, sword style,

**Techniques (be creative on how to use them):**

Jishaku kouji (magnet decoy)-this technique uses chakra to magnetize several of the users metallic object of choice, the objects(kunai for example), are then thrown to several points on the battlefield, when an enemy throws any metallic weapon (shuriken for example), the magnetized kunai draw the shuriken away from the Suki & to itself, but this means that she can't use long distance weapons as well

Bug zapper (can't find jap. translation) - (more like a bloodline than an actual jutsu) uses a large amount of chakra to force the bodies electrons to get excited, resulting in a huge amount of static discharge, if user is sweating or near water, discharge is even greater (electricity + waterbad; electricity + salt waterreally bad), if enemy comes in contact with user, or comes within aprox. a foot of the user, BIG ZAP! The enemy, when shocked, is momentarily stunned, giving user an opening to strike, if shocked enough times, enemy will become sluggish/extremely tired(can activate this ability same way the Hyuuga activate Byakukan(sp))

Jishaku Jutsu: Buki Hantai (Magnet Jutsu: weapon resistance)- opposite effect of Jishaku kouji, often used before Jishaku kouji (can confuse enemy), instead of attracting weapons, this technique charges users metallic objects to repel enemy weapons, & the objects normally charged are things such as: her sword, armguards & shingaurds, any jewelry, forehead protector, etc.

**Weapons:** Kunai, Shuriken, Twin Scimitar blades, anything that conducts electricity

Name: Tsuyayaka Hana (beautiful flower)

Name: 13 (note, I'm working with the assumption that Shinobi mature faster physically because of their training, being more in tune with their chakra and all that. I mean let's face it how else could Itachi graduate when he did, not to mention join ANBU at such a young age)

Gender: Female

Hair: Wooden brown with light green stripes that reaches halfway down her back.

Eyes: Warm earthly brown.

Originally from a small village near the Hidden Village of Grass, Hana has always had a deep love for nature and all its wonders, as her name suggests Hana also holds a special affection for flowers. She arrived in Kagegakure when she was 9 years old and has to this day not told anyone other than the Onikage the circumstances regarding her journey from her birth town to the Shadow. The only thing really known about her is that she's bonded with a Dryad (a nature spirit) that gifted Hana with the ability to manipulate flowers and plants to her will. Hana prefers to fight using long distance attacks and Genjutsu, also due to her strong connection to nature she's an extremely gifted medic nin with knowledge of special herbs and the like far beyond most others.

Although she might come around as a somewhat shy girl that is unaware of her "killer" looks, nothing could be further from the truth. Due to her bond with the Dryad spirit, Hana has no real "morals" concerning her body and her personality clearly reflects that. To put it bluntly Hana uses her looks as a weapon. Either to get what she wants or to distract her opponents in battle. Outside of battle situations and together with her team Hana is capable of acting "almost" like a "normal" Shinobi. She's the balancing factor in the team and can be an extraordinary capable team leader. She does however have a temper even more violate than Sakura's and if Hana had her own "inner Sakura" it would be considered the one in control.

The clothing Hana usually wears is geared towards her chosen style of fighting as well, standard Kunoichi shorts (like Sakura wears only dark forest green) underneath a light green half skirt (think the bottom part of what Ino wears only it has a diagonal cut that goes from her right hip down to slightly below her left knee). The rest of her clothing (in other words waist and up or something? ;)) looks like a three pronged leaf that wraps around her shoulders and neck leaving most of her side bare (its all perfectly decent and is as a matter of fact a specially crafted armour that protects from most low level (d-class) jutsu as well as Shuriken and Senbon thrown with little force)

Jutsu and fighting style:

Jutsus:

**Shokubutsuton: Barahoippu no Jutsu **(Plant Element: Rose Whip technique).

Hana's signature weapon this thorny rose whip is grown from a rose held in her hand after performing the jutsu. The Barahoippu can cut through an astounding amount of things all depending on how much chakra is poured into the whip. Hana can freely channel her chakra through the whip extending or retracting it at will as well as either poisoning her enemy (uses one handed seals to do a poison jutsu and then channel it through the whip) or putting them under a Genjutsu with it (same concept as with the poison). She can also stiffen the whip and make a sword or spear like weapon out of it if close combat is required. (NOTE: Hana is perfectly capable to do jutsus without her whip, said whip is just another way she can do it).

**Shokubutsuton: Fuhen Shirin no Tate **(Plant Element: Shield of the Everlasting Woods).

While not as effective as Gaara's Shukaku no Tate, the Fuhen Shirin is quite the impressive shielding technique. Drawing upon the energies of the areas plants and trees the Shield of the Everlasting Woods (or Woodland Shield for short) depends heavily on how much energy Hana can draw from her surroundings, the more trees the more power in the shield. Having a slight weakness to Katon techniques the shield is capable t withstand one standard Rasengan (used by the old Naruto) when it is at its full power without breaking. When the shield is summoned it looks like a glowing figure of an ancient oak in full bloom. The more energy in the shield the healthier the tree looks, when weakening either because of an attack or another reason the tree can be seen slowly withering and growing old.

**Shokubutsuton: Tanbou Shokushu** **no Jutsu **(Plant Element: Hunting Tentacle technique)

Used mainly as a restraining tool the Hunting Tentacle binds its designated target in place so that Hana can prepare another Jutsu to finish the job, the tentacle is completely under her control and she directs it with her thoughts.

**Aigyou Yume: **(Loving Dream) WARNING: Not my property

They say that a raging inferno is started by the smallest spark, well with this jutsu Hana proves that theory correct. All it takes for this Jutsu to claim its victim is that he (or she for that matter) finds _one _ thing no matter how small about Hana desirable in any way. It can range from a big thing like _"wow she's hot" _ to small things like _"hey cute smile" _or something even more obscure. When the Jutsu then takes effect this one insignificant little thought is blown into a raging inferno of affection, desire and love. Strong willed individuals can overcome this Jutsu with a little effort (Don't even consider using this on Orochimaru by the way, everyone knows he's gay. Besides he doesn't have emotions other than sick ones) most Kunoichi as well due to the fact that not many of them "swing that way."

A whole slew of other "normal" Genjutsu and medical jutsu as well as the standard Shadow Genin Jutsus (Kage Hada and others) as well as Henge, Kawarimi and Bunshin no Jutsu.

A.N: I'll go ahead and say it: This chapter was hell to write. I had zero fun doing it. You may enjoy reading it, but I didn't enjoy writhing it. So I hope you like it, because it was written just for you.

Chapter 12

Second Exam and the Forest of Death

Naruto and his team approached the door to the exam room only to be confronted by Kakashi. He smiled at them behind his mask; "Good, you all came. Now you can take the exam."

When Sakura was about to ask why, Naruto answered her; "This is like the test to become a genin. You have to take it as a team. If even one of us were to not come, none of us would have been able to go further. Isn't that right sensei?"

The group around him stared at him in shock, that wasn't something Naruto should have known. But they should not have been that surprised; Naruto had been changing ever since the wave mission.

When Kakashi got over it he just nodded; "That's right. If, for example, Sakura hadn't shown up, I would have stopped you and Sasuke from entering the room. If I had told you this before, your teammates would have pressured you into coming, even if it weren't what you wanted. But since you're here none of that matters. Now go! And good luck!" with that he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

Naruto sighed and walked thought the door, ignoring his stunned teammates.

Sasuke was frozen, thinking about how close he had come to not being able to complete his dream, and Sakura was thinking about how she had almost done something that would have caused "her" Sasuke-kun to hate her.

They were snapped out of it when Naruto stuck his head out the door; "Hey, are you two coming or do you plan to fail us all before we have even started?" That got their attention and they quickly followed him inside.

When they got inside, the team took some time to survey their surroundings. Well… that was until Sasuke felt a weight on his shoulder.

"Sasuke-kun! You're late. I've been so excited waiting for you." Purred the blond haired kunoichi.

Sakura's eye twitched; "Get away from Sasuke-kun, Ino-bunta!"

In the ensuing fight, Naruto vanished, only to re-appear behind the shadow team. "You all understand what to do, right? The first exam is a paper test. The point is to cheat, but don't reveal any of our techniques to anyone. In the second, survival, exam, keep as many teams as you can away from the sound and grass teams. Understood?" The shadow team nodded. "Good. I'll show up during the preliminaries as your sensei and leave an Alchem Bunshin to fight in my place. Ja." And he disappeared once again.

He re-appeared behind the arguing duo with a sigh. 'Baka onatachi ((women)), always arguing over that teme. I'm surprised that they've made it this far.'

He heard a sigh on the other side of the two kunoichi; "How troublesome."

Naruto maneuvered around the battling duo to see Shikamaru leaning against a wall alongside Choji who was yet again eating from a bag of chips. That reminded Naruto of something. "So you guys made it to? Hey Choji, I have something for you." He began searching through a bag of scrolls while Choji looked at him expectantly while Shikamaru was skeptical.

"Why would you give something to us? Sure we were in the same class, but we weren't technically friends." Questioned the genius.

Naruto smiled when he finally found what he was searching for; "Hm? Oh, it's because you two were the closest things to becoming friends with me in our class, besides Iruka-sensei. Here it is." He hands Choji a bag of chips that had seals covering the insides. "A never ending bag of chips, any flavor you want."

Choji's eyes grew round as plates as he accepted the gift. He immediately began eating from it to see if it was true. After several seconds, the amount of chips in the bag hadn't gone down once, which was saying something seeing as how most bags only lasted that long. Choji had tears coming from his eyes. "Thank you! This is the greatest gift I've ever gotten."

Shikamaru had a question about where he got such a bag, but he was interrupted by a loud voice from behind him.

"Well everyone's here. It seems as if all nine of this year's rookies are taking the exam. Wonder how far we'll all get, eh Sasuke." Shouted a boy wearing a dog on his head.

Sasuke snorted; "You seem pretty confident Kiba."

Kiba laughed; "We did a lot of training." He turned to Naruto; "So we won't lose to you."

Naruto ignored him and went to the girl standing behind Kiba. "How ya doin' Hinata?"

Kiba just stared at him; Naruto had ignored him.

Hinata blushed. "O-ok Nar-uto-kun." she whispered.

"That's good." He reached into his pack and pulled something out. And leaned in to whisper in her ear; "Use this during the second exam and you will gain the power to protect those precious to you." He placed a small scroll in her hand, seconds before she passed out. Naruto caught her easily and quickly did a jutsu to set her on her feet again, before moving back with his team, dodging Kiba's fist on the way.

Shino stared at his retreating back as one of his bugs landed on his shoulder. 'So he is hiding something. That much my bugs can tell, but they refuse to tell me what it is. What are you hiding Uzumaki?' Unknown to him, that same question was being asked by most of the elite of Konoha.

"Hey, you guys should be more quiet." Called a gray haired genin. Naruto looked at him and glared inwardly, knowing that he was a traitor. "Sheesh… just out of the academy and screaming like school girls." He sighed; "This isn't a picnic."

Sakura glared at him; "And who do you think you are?" she demanded.

The man grinned. "The name's Kabuto. But instead of me you should be paying attention to them." He pointed behind the group of rookies. When they turned around they were met with almost the whole room glaring at them and a wave of killer intent. "Those guys are from the Hidden Rain and are notorious for their short tempers. Everyone is nervous about the exam, so it would be best to quiet down before you cause a scene."

When everyone turned back to Kabuto, Naruto glared at the Rain team and threw them a scroll before he turned to Kabuto as well.

The Ame-nins glared at his back before looking down at the scroll. Their eyes widened as it bore the mark of the Mizukami. They quickly opened it and read the contents.

_Ame Genin,_

_After the First Exam, or should you pass that, the Second, you are to convey the contents of this scroll to your Kage, and that of every Kage in my lands._

_To the Genin, you will not kill any Konoha genin. You may attack them, but should they die… You will also stay away from the Grass and Sound teams. Should you disregard the last order, your deaths will be on your own heads. Other than that, do your best, and look beneath the underneath._

_To the kage of the Hidden Villages of the Lands of Water, each and every one of you will sign an alliance with Konoha, as well as attend the Chuunin Exam Finals. You are to aid Konoha in any up coming wars. Should you ignore my words, I will strip your villages of their Suiton Jutsus, as well as my protection. _

_Thank you for your compliance,_

_Mizukami, Lord of Water._

Below that was the seal of the Mizukami, a mark that could only be made by the god of water and no other. The Ame team was stunned. The Mizukami had given them direct orders, almost face to face. And not only that, but he had ordered an alliance with Konoha. But then again, who were they to question a god's orders. At least he had given them some advice for the exam. They grinned; this was going to be good.

Kabuto had watched this out of the corner of his eye, but he could not read the scroll. There was some kind of mist floating between him and the page. 'Is Naruto a spy like me? No, I saw the mark of a god on that… but why would he have something like that? I will have to keep an eye on him. Orochimaru may be interested in this.' He chuckled; "Well I can't blame you, you are just clueless Rookies after all. You remind me of my first try."

Sakura looked at him questioningly; "So this is your second time?"

"Nope," Kabuto shook his head; "it's my seventh. Exams are held twice a year, so this is my fourth year."

Sakura was amazed, even though she shouldn't have been. He had failed six times, so he couldn't have been that good, right? That or something was wrong. Sadly, the pink haired kunoichi didn't think that way. "Wow!" she exclaimed; "So you know a lot about this exam."

"That's right. How about I share some info with you rookies." He pulled out a stack of cards; "With these nin-info cards." Seeing their questioning looks he explained; "They are basically just cards that have info burned into them with chakra." He placed one on the floor and touched one finger to it. The card glowed for a second before beginning to spin. It stopped with a puff of smoke revealing a map of the ninja world. "I have four years worth of info in here, and over two hundred cards." He looked up at them and grinned; "And they can't be viewed unless I use my chakra." He pointed down at the map; "This card for example shows the countries participating in this year's exam, and how many genins there are from each village."

Kiba noticed something and decided to point it out; "What about this village, the Hidden Shadow? It's marked on the graph, but I don't see where it is on the map."

Kabuto sighed; "This is their first time attending any exam in any foreign countries. But they are not a new village, it is actually the oldest, or so the legends say. But for some reason, no one can find the village. If it weren't for the sightings of it's shinobi every once in a while, most wouldn't believe it. It is also rumored that some of their ninjas would make the Kyuubi that attacked twelve years ago look like nothing." At that, everyone from Konoha looked at the Kage Team in apprehension. "Not only that, but I heard that the team that they sent is being led by one of the Kage-Sennin." At that, even he shivered. He would most definitely not want to meet up with their leader, who was thankfully not participating. The thing that really scared him was that no one, not even he, knew anything about their leader besides his status. No description, no age, not even a name.

Sasuke studied the map before glancing at Kabuto; "Do you have info on individuals as well?"

Kabuto looked at him and smirked; "What, is there someone you're worried about? Any way, yeah, I do. But it isn't perfect. Just tell me who they are and I see what I can do."

Sasuke grinned evilly; "Gaara of the Sand, and Uzumaki Naruto and Rock Lee of the Leaf."

"Oh, so you know their names and where they're from, that makes it easier. Lets start with Gaara. He's had eight C-Rank missions, and one B-Rank. That's pretty good for a genin. Since he's from a different nation, I don't have as much information on him, but I did find that he returned from all his missions without a scratch." Sasuke began to sweat in anticipation. "Now for Rock Lee. He's a year older than you, and supposedly a taijutsu expert. Besides his taijutsu, nothing else is very impressive. He's had twenty-six D-Rank missions and eleven C-Rank ones." Kabuto then flipped over the last card. "Uzumaki Naruto… what!?" Everyone jumped and stared at him, wanting to know what was so astonishing. Kabuto continued hesitantly; "Uzumaki Naruto, all information on this person has been restricted by word of Shinigami, Hokami, Tsuchikami, and Mizukami. All of his stats are blank, as well as any other information." Kabuto looked over to see Naruto grinning, not at all surprised at what was said.

He and the rest would have asked what that was about, and his Team would have asked what was so special about the Dobe to be noticed by four gods, if the Sound team hadn't chosen that moment to test the rookies.

They had heard that one of the genin's stats had been cleared by some gods, and had decided to see if he was really all that. Then Dosu, ran swiftly and quietly through the crowd, making his way towards the grinning Naruto. Right before he made it there, Zaku hurled a kunai towards the blond to move him into position.

Naruto paid no attention to the incoming projectile as inches before it hit him; an orb of water engulfed the kunai and froze so cold that the metal shattered inside of the ice. He grabbed the orb and looked at it before tossing it back to Zaku. The orb would remain frozen for the next hundred years.

Dosu paid no mind to that and swung his arm at Naruto who merely dodged the blow. The sound waves emitted from the weapon on his arm created a wave in the water surrounding Naruto. Not wanting it's master to be harmed, the water reacted by re-routing the blast back at Dosu.

The sound genin knew something was wrong when the blond was un-affected. Moments later he has on his knees, loosing his breakfast on the ground, while the rest of the rookies were wondering what was going on.

The Oto-nin prepared themselves to attack again, but a loud booming voice stopped everyone in their tracks. "Quiet you worthless maggots!"

A cloud of smoke cleared from the front of the room revealing a group of Chuunin lead by a Jounin dressed in a black trench coat and bandana. It was the head of Konoha's Special Torture and Interrogation Squad. "Thank you for waiting. I am Morino Ibiki, and I will be you examiner for the first part of the Chuunin Exam." He pointed at the Oto-nin. "You. Stop doing as you please, or do you want to be failed before this even starts." The sound ninjas cowered at the malevolent aura the man was emitting. They weren't the only ones; most of the people in the room were terrified of the Jounin. "This will be a good time to let you know that there will be no fighting without one of the examiners permission. And even then, killing is forbidden. Do you got that?" when everyone nodded he smiled. It was not a kind smile, but the kind that gives kids nightmares. "Those that do not comply will be failed immediately. Now, we will start the first test. You will come up here and take one of these tabs, and sit in the corresponding seat. Once everyone is seated, we will hand out the exam."

All of the rookies looked at Naruto, expecting some kind of reaction. They only got him looking bored and a shrug; "What, I did some studying before I got here."

"No amount of studying will help you, Naruto," said Sakura.

Minutes later, Naruto found himself seated next to a blushing Hinata. He wasn't surprised, but Hinata was having a hard time not passing out being so close to her crush. "Hey Hinata, lets do our best. And just remember, never give up." He put more emphasis on the last words, making sure she heard him. Not that he needed to, she raptly listened to every word he had ever said.

After the tests had been handed out Ibiki began to explain the rules, the exact same rules that Naruto had heard twice before. So he ignored it up to the point where he felt two pairs of eyes glaring holes in his back. He sighed; 'Do they have no faith in me? No. Guess they don't. Oh well, not like it matters. When I become a Chuunin here the team will be split up, hopefully. Its all I can do not to drown those two.' When given the signal to begin, he turned the test over and scanned the questions before grinning. 'Onimetsuki.' he thought. This time, when he activated the eyes they changed.

His iris became pure gold as the whites became blue. Inside the gold, streaks of red appeared. Each represented an element, Earth was gold, blue was Water, and red was Fire. In the pupil, the three colors merged and formed a white cross. 'Amatsugan' The Heavenly, or Imperial Eye. Basically the same as the Onimetsuki but allowed the user the ability to see everything. Chakra, coils, muscles, veins, nerves, tenketsus, it saw it all. At the highest level, it could even read thoughts and intentions. It was the father of all Dojutsu.

Naruto looked around and immediately noticed the differences. 'Guess it was bound to happen; after all, I got Onimetsuki when I became a Youkai. Why wouldn't it change when I became a Kami.' With that, he began to scan the room and watch what the genin were doing.

Behind him, a certain Hyuuga was staring intently at him. Neji had recognized the purpose of the test right away and had activated his Byakugan. Moments later he noticed a large amount of chakra converging on one person, more specifically their eyes. He wondered what kind of eye technique required that much chakra. It was then that he noticed that it was the dead last of the year. 'Hmpf, loser must have botched a technique. I wonder what he was trying to do though.'

Beside Naruto, another Hyuuga gasped when she saw his eyes. 'Naruto-kun… so beautiful. Hehe, you also have a bloodline, maybe now father will allow me to marry you.' At the thought, her face burned and became to color of a strawberry. Seconds later she fainted.

Sasuke and Sakura glared down at the questions, thinking that they had already failed because of their third teammate. 'Naruto.' They both thought angrily, 'if we fail because of you… You will die.'

Naruto saw all of this with his new eyes. He also saw the answers through the sheet Ibiki was holding. He quickly wrote down the answers before closing his eyes and watching his students.

Naosoka had several chibi cat summons through out the room, most using their chakra to camouflage themselves as they gathered information and relayed it back to their master. Suki was monitoring the magnetic force fields that surrounded the genin and was using that to find the answers. And Hana was communicating with the plant fibers in the paper.

All in all, they were using their specialties to their advantage. He was proud of them, even if he had taught them almost nothing. He knew that his own team would do well, so he decided to watch the others until the final question.

He saw Gaara using his eye of sand to steel answers from some hapless kid, the Hyuuga's were using their Byakugan, and Lee and Tenten were using a set of mirrors to view the papers. 'Interesting, so that's how they did it.' After some time he felt the killing intent of his teammates flare up. He sighed; 'It seems that I may have to "force" my issue once more.' Hinata could see that Naruto already had the answers so she did not attempt to help him any more. Naruto quickly deactivated his Amatsugan after he had seen everything, and waited for Kankurou to leave to use the restroom, signaling the approaching end of the test.

Five minutes later Ibiki slammed his fist on the desk gaining him everyone's attention. "We will now give out the tenth question. But first…" he grinned evilly; "there are some additional rules that go along with it."

Just before he started, Kankurou returned, a proctor following behind. "Was your doll playing beneficial?" asked Ibiki before motioning for the stunned genin to take his seat. "Just sit down. I will now explain. These are the rules of desperation."

Naruto chose that moment to take a nap and put his head down, completely ignoring everything that went on from that point. Behind him, one of the proctors saw this and decided to wake him up, throwing a pencil so that it would strike him in the back of the head. He was surprised when suddenly the pencil glinted once and flew back at him. The proctor moved his head at the last second as the pencil buried itself in the wall not an inch from his ear. When he looked at the pencil he was shocked to find that it had been encased in ice and had a tip on it sharpened than a winter's gale. He shuddered to think what would have happened had he not moved out of the way. Needless to say he decided to let the boy sleep.

Sakura was about to raise her hand to quit the test, thinking that Naruto would end up failing it, and ruining his dream of becoming Hokage. She may not have liked the boy all that much, but she still cared for him, he was after all always there for her. She tried to move her hand, but a sudden strange feeling wrapped around her wrist. What ever was keeping her from moving was warm and furry, but she could not see it. she tried to move her hand again, but whatever it was had a grip of steel and seemed to not want her to quit.

Sakura glanced up at her teammates only to find Naruto glaring at her out of the corner of his eye as if daring her to try it again. 'Is he the one responsible for this? How? What kind of jutsu must this be?'

She was snapped from her thoughts as Ibiki grinned and announced that everyone left in the room had passed the first exam. He proceeded to explain to them the purpose of the test and show them the scars that he had received from a mission like the one he described. When he finished, Ibiki wished them luck in the next exam.

Seconds later the window at the front of the room shattered at a black ball of cloth hurtled into the room. Two kunai attached to the corners embedded themselves into the ceiling, and the cloth unfurled proudly declaring: "Head of Second Exam, Mitarashi Anko."

"Quiet down brats! This is no time to be celebrating. Follow me!" she yelled, flinging her arm in the air as she appeared in front of the stunned genin.

Ibiki pushed the banner out from in front of him and sighed. "Nice timing."

Naruto picked his head up and mumbled; "Do you have to be so loud, I'm trying to sleep."

Anko glared at him before turning her gaze upon Ibiki; "Eighty-one? You left twenty seven teams!?" she scoffed; "The test was too easy this year. Ibiki, you must have gotten soft."

The interrogation head smirked at the purple haired-kunoichi; "There were a lot of good teams this year."

"Whatever. By the time I'm done with them, there will be less than half left." She smirked evilly and the shadows seemed to collect around her, courtesy of Naruto and a special genjutsu he learned when he became a Kami.

It was very helpful for the Elemental gods to use when the mortals become foolish enough to think that they can defy them. ((Even though the gods only get involved when they absolutely have to, otherwise they let the ningen do as they wish)) Among the pantheon, it was known as the Vengeful Kami Jutsu, a kind of joke, because they could use it at a whim, and it was very effective.

Anko chuckled once; "I'm getting excited." Then with a sudden change in mood; "Everyone meet me at Training Ground 44 in two hours." With that she disappeared in a plume of smoke.

As soon as she was gone, the genin began to file out of the room while the Kage-nin, including Naruto, melted into the shadows. Only Ibiki noticed this though. 'That's strange. Maybe I should report this to Hokage-sama.' He walked forward and began picking up the tests, scanning each as he went by. When he came to Naruto's, his eyes widened slightly. 'He even managed to take his answers from me without me noticing it.' he chuckled lightly; 'He's good. Oh! What's this?' he narrowed his eyes as he traced the chakra lining the paper.

'The grudge long held by those governing two countries will be overcome for the sake of one. She that quenches the flame, and he that removes the mist have come together and forgotten their age-old quarrel. The one who rules the sea has become another, one born in heat. The lord of fire shall teach the one who now controls the rains. And the ground shall join soon after. Water and Earth shall join with Fire. Rain will help the leaves grow.'

Ibiki scanned the paper once more; "What the hell does that mean!?" he sighed and copied the note and teleported into the Hokage's office. "Hokage-sama, I think you should see this."

Sarutobi was slightly surprised at the Jounin's sudden appearance but shrugged it off as he read the message. When he finished it he gave Ibiki a sharp look; "Where did you find this?"

Ibiki sensed that the answer was very important so he told him; "It was found inside one Uzumaki Naruto's test. The message was inscribed in chakra behind his answers. I also happened to notice him using the same teleport technique as the team from the Shadows."

The Hokage nodded; "I see. It seems that we will son be gaining some powerful allies." He looked out the window; "The future is looking bright, so long as Konoha does nothing more to damage the thinning patience of the gods. They may be coming together to help us now, but that can easily change." He sighed, hoping that the villagers wouldn't do anything to hurt the one who was gaining them so many allies. "Ibiki, you may leave, but speak of this to no one." Ibiki nodded and disappeared. Sarutobi turned towards the Hokage Monument; "The future is indeed looking bright."

((A.N: I think that would be a good place to end it… but I'm not that mean, so I'll give you a little more.))

The genin soon arrived at the main gate to the forest of death to find a grinning Anko waiting for them. "Welcome to Area 44, also known as the Forest of Death." She paused; "We would have used Area 47, but it doesn't seem to want anybody to enter it rite now." All the genin from Konoha shuddered at the thought of entering the Demon Forest, as it was now called. Naruto looked a tad uncomfortable, but most could see pride on his face, as if he had something to do with the forest. "Never the less, you will soon find out why it's called the Forest of Death." Naruto glared at her and unintentionally released some killer intent; unfortunately for him Anko felt it. Grinning wildly she drew a kunai and hurled it at him. "It seems we have some spirited one's this year."

The metal priced the air, heading straight for Naruto. Slowly the air around him began to glow blue. The light shot out and struck the kunai, which immediately became encased in ice, before disappearing from view. This time it was Naruto's turn to smirk as she appeared beside him. "nice try Anko-chan'" he whispered; "But nothing can get past the Guarding Mist."

Anko's first thought was; 'What the heck was that?' she quickly recovered by saying; "Interesting move brat, but that was nothing compared to what you will face in this forest. Hehehe… cocky kids like you are the first to be killed in there.

From behind them, a certain grass-nin watched, examining them carefully. 'It seems that there are more interesting things here along with the Uchiha. I will have Kabuto watch them all. And if he proves worthy, I may bring him along with Sasuke. Kukukuku.'

Anko grinned at the killing intent she felt behind her; "It seems we have a blood thirsty group this year." She chuckled quietly; "This should be fun. Ok! Now before we start, there is something that I have to pass out." She reached into her jacket and pulled out a stack of papers. "Each of you must sign one of these forms before being allowed to proceed to the second test. They are to make sure that Konoha will not be held responsible for anything that happens to you during the last phases of the exam… and there will be deaths in this part." She passed them out while explaining the second part of the exam.

When she came to Naruto, lines of burnt script began flowing across the waver in her hand. Part of it signed his name at the bottom, while the other held a warning. _"The snake is searching for the fan, without the aid of the dark, the leaves will loose a whole clan. The shadow of shadows will aid the shadow of the leaves when they fall, death shall not claim another soul. Be warned, send the masked ones to patrol the trees of death and make sure that all sounds are silenced. I have signed in place of the Whirlpool, for you as well as I know that he shall never give up his quest." _(Fire's Scion) Anko re-read the message before immediately sending it to the Hokage.

"Ok then you brats. This is a survival exam. You and your teams will be spending some time in this forest. While inside you must each collect a pair of scrolls. One will be given to you here, the other you must obtain during your stay in the forest. You will be given either a heaven or an earth scroll." She said, holding up the scrolls. "Half will get heaven, and half will get earth. That is your mission for this exam. You have one hundred and twenty hour to complete it. Now for how you will be disqualified. First, is not making it to the tower within the time limit after obtaining both scrolls. Second, is if you loose a teammate or have a teammate killed. And third, if you look inside of either scroll outside of the tower in the center of the forest. The likely hood of even half of you passing is extremely low. The forest is filled with poisonous plants and insects as well as man-eating animals. As time goes on the distance to the goal will become longer and the time to rest, shorter. The area is crawling with enemies, so you wont get much sleep, so not only will some fail by loosing the scrolls, but also some will die from the harshness of the course." She turned away. "That's it. go turn in three forms for your scroll." She began to leave, but stopped to say one last thing. "And one last piece of advice… don't die."

Naruto snickered while the rest of the genin murmured among themselves. 'Just like I remembered. But she was a lot scarier last time.'

'**That's because you were just a genin then, and you didn't have that many techniques.'**

'Hey Kyuu, when did you wake up?'

'**Just now. Be sure to keep an eye on everyone. I think they're beginning to suspect that you are something more than you let on.'**

'I know. That's fine, I was planning on revealing myself at some point. Hold on, they're opening the gates."

The gates clicked open, and the second part of the Chuunin exams began.

A.N: Sorry for the long wait. I've been really busy since school started. Naruto also got a little boring during the fillers so I kinda lost a good bit of interest. But don't worry, I'm not just going to end the story or quit. I hate it when people do that, so I'm not going to do it to you. The updates may take a while, but I'm still working on it. so to all you loyal fans, or new fans, hope you enjoyed this update.


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